Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News

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UPDATE: Jordan loses more support in third vote; Gaetz willing to accept consequences if Jordan elected

Any doubts that the Republican Party is in chaos have been officially cast aside following a raucous Friday that included Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) falling 20 votes short of becoming Speaker of the House.

In a vote held Friday morning, 25 Republicans voted for someone other than Jordan. That’s three more detractors on the third round of voting than the second.

“Look, there’s been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before,” Jordan said during his much-anticipated pre-vote press conference. “We all know that. I just know that we need to get a speaker as soon as possible so we can get to work for the American people.”

Gumption, though, might not be enough for Jordan, who continues to flounder with his fellow congressional Republicans.

Jordan is nothing if not resolute in his desire and is taking what some have described as a “bare-knuckle” approach to his quest for the gavel. Where Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was willing to sacrifice his own authority to become speaker, Jordan is willing to sacrifice his own and others’ political capital.

Jordan, or at least Jordan hardliners, have gone so far as to offer Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz in exchange for a yes vote from those representatives who have dug in against Jordan at least in part as a signal to their constituents and Freedom Caucus that Gaetz has gone too far in acting as a right-wing chaos agent.

Gaetz and six of the other seven Republicans who voted McCarthy out of power have agreed to accept any number of negative consequences if Republicans will only approve Jordan.

“If the holdouts who refuse to vote for Speaker-Designate Jim Jordan would be willing to ‘vote with the team’ and elect him the 56th House Speaker, we are prepared to accept censure, suspension, or removal from the Conference to accomplish this objective,” the group of seven wrote in a joint letter to their Republican colleagues.

It is important to note that the letter originally included the name of Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado. Buck’s name has since been removed as his office said he never authorized his signature to be included.

It’s equally important to note that the signatories didn’t agree to leave the conference, only not fight if the conference chose to pursue some form of censure.

According to a report from Reason, Jordan is offering to back tax breaks for wealthy residents in blue states in a bid to win over (perhaps even force the hand of) Republicans in places like New York, where a vote for Jordan will be used as ammunition by opponents in the 2024 election.

He’s also leaning into support from McCarthy, who spoke in favor of Jordan prior to Friday’s vote.

“@Jim_Jordan has passed more legislation through the House in the last 3 years than the entire Democrat leadership team with their collective 28 years in Congress,” McCarthy tweeted.

It remains a strong likelihood that even the all-out, one might argue desperate, attempt by Jordan to power through the finish line will still fall short.

If Jordan and company were counting on Gaetz’s potential ouster, and the stress should be on the word potential, as the magic bullet to the hearts of disaffected moderates, it seems to be falling short.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), one of the new holdouts, told the Wall Street Journal he wouldn’t vote for Jordan “based on that.”

The Hill reports that Rep. Carlos Jiminez (R-Fla.), who is among the more vocal critics of McCarthy’s ouster and a man who has refused to vote yes on Jordan under any circumstance, remains unswayed.

“That will make me never vote for Jordan,” Jiminez said. “Why? Because if this was their plot all along — to oust Kevin McCarthy, who was a rightful leader, to put the one that they wanted — that’s just rewarding bad behavior.”

Editor’s Note: The above section was added to ensure FISM readers receive the most up-to-date information available on this crucial matter. Willie R. Tubbs’ original story, which was published overnight and prior to Friday’s vote, is included in its entirety below. 

Despite the mathematical odyssey he faces, Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, like Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) before him, is giving every indication he plans to dig in and play the long game against the almost two dozen Republican holdouts who are preventing him from becoming the new Speaker of the House. 

For a time on Thursday, it seemed that Jordan and Republicans planned to punt the speakership into January by agreeing to temporarily expand the powers of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.).

However, later on Thursday, Jordan withdrew his support of McHenry and announced he would hold a press conference early Friday morning to discuss the state of the speakership. 

“I’m told Rep. Jim Jordan will hold a press conference tomorrow ahead of the 10am vote,” a post on X from ABC News reporter Kathleen Faulders reads. “Expected at 8am. His [spokesperson] says he’s not dropping out.”

Unless Jordan knows something that no one else in the Beltway does or is willing to share, his Friday proposition is as daunting as the earlier portions of the week. 

At the most recent count, 22 Republicans refuse to vote for him and that’s 19 more fellow party members than Jordan can afford. 

Reports from Capitol Hill on Thursday indicated that Jordan’s Republican naysayers would grow in number on Friday. 

“You know how smart this guy is right? And he doesn’t wear glasses,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), one of the holdouts, told The Hill. “He can see the writing on the wall.”

As previously outlined by FISM, Jordan has a moderate problem. Congresspeople from at-risk districts and purple states, and even some who are anxious to return a favor to Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and the Freedom Caucus, are banding together to make Jordan’s path virtually impossible to complete.

Now, even previously pro-Jordan voters are exiting. 

Per the Philadelphia Inquirer,  Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick will no longer vote for Jordan. Similarly, New York Rep. Marc Molinaro has hinted he will no longer support Jordan. 

Fitzpatrick’s vote might have been lost after Jordan torpedoed the McHenry extension. 

On Wednesday, Fitzpatrick had enthusiastically endorsed the idea, telling Scripps reporter Nathaniel Reed, “I think I think we’re going to empower the Speaker Pro Tem to act as Speaker for a period of time, possibly through the end of the year…”

Naturally, as with all things in politics, there is no accounting for compromises and backroom deals. A no on Thursday could as easily become a yes or an abstention on Friday. 

It’s equally possible that Jordan returns to the McHenry camp, if for no other reason than to pause the bleeding and allow Congress to pass generally popular measures like funding to support Israel or necessary bills like the one that is still needed to fund the government longterm. 

In a strange way, the only consistent factor in what has become a surreal episode in American politics is that Gaetz will continue to work as a fly in the Republican ointment. 

“Ever seen a SWAMP actually drained?” Gaetz tweeted Thursday. “This Florida Man has. It’s not orderly. Turns out, the alligators & snakes get unruly when the comfort of their habitat is disrupted.”

The other constant is the overpowering message that Republicans are becoming as fractured within as the two-party system is without.

Should Jordan fall flat, it could be an arduous journey for the GOP to find a person who can galvanize the two extremes.

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