After Jordan’s nomination, only 152 Republican representatives had said they would vote for him for speaker. 217 votes are required to be elected.
On Friday, the Republicans nominated a supporter of the right wing of the party by Jim Jordan as his new candidate for Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. The House of Representatives has been paralyzed for the tenth day in a row due to the speaker drama.
Previous candidate for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise withdrew from the race on Thursday, just a day after being selected as the Republican nominee for speaker. Scalise had received the nomination after defeating Jordan in a close vote.
On Thursday, Scalise had tried to seek support from those who voted for Jordan, but announced on Thursday evening that he would leave the race. In his comments, Scalise estimated that House Republicans still have work to do to bridge the divide dividing the party.
The internal disputes among Republicans led last week to the House Speaker, a Republican by Kevin McCarthy to be ousted from his position in a close vote.
The far-right’s favorite shares opinions
After the withdrawal of Scalise, former President of the United States Donald Trump too a new opportunity presented itself to the supportive Jordan. He won the Georgian representative in an internal vote on Friday Austin Scottwhich was of the New York Times announced that he would run for office just hours before the vote.
Jordan is a favorite of the Republican far-right, but shares opinions in more moderate circles.
Unlike McCarthy and Scalise, Jordan has the confidence of the most conservative faction of the party behind him. He spent years as an out-of-the-mainstream activist until he became chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee.
However, getting elected to the position of Speaker requires the support of a majority in the House of Representatives, where Republicans only have a slim majority.
Jordan won Friday’s vote 124-81.
Despite receiving the nomination, Jordan still faces serious challenges. Several moderate Republican lawmakers have said they will not support Jordan.
Based on the voting results, Jordan would still need 90 supporters to get the necessary votes. After Friday’s vote, however, only 152 Republican representatives had said they would vote for Jordan as speaker.
The House of Representatives adjourned for the weekend, giving Jordan precious time to garner additional support.
Source: AFP