Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan reportedly won’t run for a third term as Speaker of the House this week after losing the first and second rounds of voting and will instead support a plan to extend Speaker Interim Patrick McHenry’s powers in the coming months.
Jordan and other Republicans are teaming up on a plan to allow McHenry to serve as president until January to help avoid a congressional gridlock ahead of a looming government shutdown.
Jordan will still run for the permanent position of House Speaker and use the next few months to rally support, Politico reports.
For now, however, the plan does not find widespread support, s New Republic journalist Grace Segers X reports that discussions on the plan dragged on for hours, with at least one congressman saying the resolution to empower McHenry was “dead.”
The House of Representatives appointed a temporary Speaker Pro Tempore following the historic removal of Kevin McCarthy
McHenry, a representative from North Carolina, was named Speaker Pro Tempore after Kevin McCarthy became the first Speaker of the House to be removed from his role during a legislative term in US history.
The unprecedented request to remove McCarthy from the nation’s third-highest office follows an impeachment vote earlier this month, in which the House of Representatives voted 216-210 to strip him of his leadership role.
Shortly after McCarthy’s ouster, Republicans nominated Steve Scalise, a Louisiana representative, for president, although he was unable to muster the support to win the presidency and soon withdrew from consideration for the role.
House Republicans then selected Jordan as the party’s nominee, though he was unable to win majority support during two rounds of voting this week.
Patrick McHenry.
Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty
To be officially elected Speaker, a candidate must secure a majority of votes during the formal election – meaning Jordan would need 217 votes, if everyone in the House of Representatives participates.
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McHenry was elected to Congress in 2004 at the age of 29 and served 10 terms. A native of Gastonia, North Carolina, he currently resides in Denver, North Carolina and represents the state’s 10th District, which includes Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln and Rutherford counties.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education