Jordan suspends bid for US House Speaker, backs McHenry: Media
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Mr Jim Jordan fell short of the 217 votes needed to fill the vacant Speaker’s chair on Oct 18, as 22 fellow Republicans voted against him.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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WASHINGTON - Hardline conservative Jim Jordan will suspend his attempt to serve as Speaker of the US House of Representatives. He will instead back fellow Republican Patrick McHenry to fill the role on a temporary basis, media outlets reported on Thursday.
The House has been without a leader for more than two weeks.
Mr Jordan has twice failed to secure the 217 votes needed to claim the Speaker’s gavel as he has faced opposition from Democrats and more than 20 Republicans.
He declined to comment as he entered a closed-door meeting with other Republicans.
The Washington Post and Punchbowl reported that Mr Jordan will not seek a third vote to win the post, and instead will back a plan to empower Mr McHenry to hold the post until January.
Mr McHenry is currently serving as acting Speaker.
Some Republicans and Democrats say they should award more authority to Representative Patrick McHenry, who is filling the Speaker’s chair on a temporary basis.
PHOTO: AFP
That option, which Democrats have also said they might support, would allow lawmakers to get back to work.
Democratic President Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress this week to approve as much as US$60 billion (S$82 billion) for Ukraine and US$10 billion for Israel.
Furthermore, funding for US government operations is also due to expire in less than a month.
Investors say the turmoil on Capitol Hill is contributing to market volatility.
The prolonged leadership battle has laid bare divisions among Republicans who control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 margin.
A small group of Republicans ousted Mr Kevin McCarthy from the Speaker’s chair on Oct 3, and the Chamber’s No. 2 Republican, Mr Steve Scalise, dropped his leadership bid last week after he was unable to line up the 217 votes.
“There are factions, definitely factions, that’s all I can say. I haven’t seen it like this before,” said Republican Representative Brian Babin, who voted for Mr Jordan.
The Chamber’s top Democrat, Mr Hakeem Jeffries, had said his caucus would not support any leadership plan that involved Mr Jordan – a supporter of former president Donald Trump – taking the gavel.
“That bipartisan path cannot be Jim Jordan, who’s a poster child for Maga extremism and a clear and present danger to our democracy,” Mr Jeffries said, referring to Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan.
Some Republicans and Democrats had asked to award more authority to Mr McHenry. This could allow Congress to approve US government funding before a Nov 17 deadline, and consider other legislation that has been put on hold, like disaster aid and crop subsidies.
Democrats and two past Republican House Speakers have backed that idea, but Mr McHenry himself had not as at Wednesday, saying he wanted to focus on getting Mr Jordan the speakership instead.
However, Republicans could struggle to govern even when they do settle on a leader. Lawmakers in the party remain divided even after winning limited spending cuts in a showdown this spring that brought Washington to the edge of default.
“The honeymoon is going to be really, really short. Because then you’ve got to perform and that is going to challenge the best of us,” said Republican Representative Steve Womack, who opposes Mr Jordan.
Unlike other leaders in Congress, Mr Jordan built his profile as an uncompromising advocate for the party’s right wing, clashing with Republicans and Democrats alike.
He encouraged government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018 and was a “significant player” in Trump’s attempts to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win, according to a congressional investigation.
He is also helping to lead an impeachment investigation into Mr Biden that Democrats say is baseless.
Mr Jordan’s supporters say he would be an effective advocate for conservative polices in a city where Democrats control the White House and the Senate.
Republicans who have voted against him have cited differences on taxes and spending, and accuse him of undercutting Mr Scalise’s leadership bid last week. Others have objected to harassing phone calls and even death threats from his supporters.
“Intimidating and threatening tactics do not – and will not – work,” Republican Representative Mike Simpson wrote on social media. REUTERS
