October 18, 2023 10:10 AM UTC

"Gym" Jordan Rassles Again (Wednesday Edition)

• 13 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #3: Rep. Jason Crow checks in with a plea for the chaos to end, on account of the world desperately needing American leadership in a time of crisis and all that sundry stuff:

Checking in: just took my 17th vote for Speaker this Congress.

The vote failed. Again. The House still has no Speaker. Meanwhile:

1. Israel war worsens

2. Middle East tensions are rising

3. Ukraine war sits at pivotal point

4. US govt shutdown looms

Republicans: please work…

— Rep. Jason Crow (@RepJasonCrow) October 18, 2023

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UPDATE #2: Jim Jordan loses his second bid for the speakership with a slight erosion of support as forecast by Rep. Ken Buck:

Back to the drawing board they go!

Oh who are we kidding, there’s no drawing board.

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UPDATE: Deja vu all over again as Rep. Ken Buck votes for Tom Emmer to be Speaker of the House and Rep. Lauren Boebert once again backs Jim Jordan.

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The Washington Post reports on the continuing struggle by House Republicans to elect a Speaker of the House, as far-right GOP nominee for the post Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio tries again to win a majority after losing the first ballot yesterday:

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) faces a second vote for speaker Wednesday after falling short on the first ballot Tuesday, when 20 members of his own party refused to back him. Jordan, a conservative firebrand endorsed by former president Donald Trump, is seeking to succeed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was ousted more than two weeks ago. To prevail, Jordan needs a majority vote from the full chamber, including Democrats. He can afford to lose only four GOP votes if all members are present.

Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado, who helped plunge the GOP House majority into chaos by voting with seven of his Republican colleagues to oust Kevin McCarthy, said after yesterday’s vote that he remains a “no” on Jordan for Speaker, Colorado Public Radio’s Caitlyn Kim:

After the vote, Buck said there were a few reasons he did not back Jordan, including the future of military funding for Ukraine. Jordan was one of 117 Republicans who didn’t vote for additional Ukraine funding at the end of September. And Buck said “I haven’t gotten a commitment that it will come to the floor” if Jordan becomes Speaker.

Buck also reiterated his concern about Jordan’s views on the 2020 election and his involvement in the Trump campaign’s effort to hold onto the presidency.

“I’m concerned about the inability to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the election and the activities surrounding January 6th,” Buck continued.

The problem with taking Buck at his word here is that last week he appeared to buckle under pressure and indicate support for Rep. Steve Scalise’s speakership bid–just hours before Scalise pulled himself out of the running after realizing he didn’t have the support to win. Like Jordan, Scalise was a 2020 presidential election denialist who refused to meet Buck’s test of admitting that Joe Biden is the rightful President of the United States.

Buck predicted last night that the vote against Jordan will be even greater today than yesterday, while Jordan’s allies say he’s reduced the “no” votes to the single digits.

If Jordan can’t get to the magic number of 217, how many rounds of voting will House Republicans put themselves through before they come crawling back to Democrats for a deal? That outcome would not be good for Buck’s legacy, to say nothing of how diehard Jordan supporter Rep. Lauren Boebert will react if the ouster of McCarthy she half-supported results in Democrats helping choose the next Speaker.

The next round of voting is about to begin, and we’ll update when the dust settles.