Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan as their new nominee for House speaker on Friday, picking a staunch conservative who was backed by former President Donald Trump.
Jordan managed to turn back a surprise challenge from Rep. Austin Scott
(R., Ga.) to get one step closer to the speakership.
Jordan (R., Ohio) is co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and is chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He was opposed by more moderate members of the party.
Scott is an ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and serves on the Intelligence, Armed Services, and Agriculture committees.
House Republicans had a candidate forum Friday afternoon before they chose Jordan. Now, the Ohioan must win a majority of the full House.
The math for electing a speaker is tight because there are bitter divisions among Republicans, who command a narrow 221-212 majority in the chamber. Democrats support their own candidate, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
The House has been without a speaker for more than a week. McCarthy (R., Calif.) was ousted after agreeing to a deal with Democrats that kept the government running.
Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the majority leader, won the conference’s nomination earlier this week but then struggled to nail down wider support to be sure of winning the role. He then dropped out of the race.
Without a speaker, the House can’t bring bills to a vote. The deadline for approving more government spending is mid-November or the government will shut down. Motions regarding Israel and Ukraine could be even more urgent.
The power vacuum could also become detrimental for government bonds if investors decide the U.S. can’t reliably and predictably resolve disagreements over budgets and spending.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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