After previous nominee Steve Scalise withdrew his name for contention for the Speaker of the House position, Jim Jordan of Ohio and Austin Scott of Georgia showed their interest in the position. Jordan won the nomination after House Republicans approved him 124-81 over Scott.
Jim Jordan.It was posted on Scott’s X (formerly Twitter) account on Oct. 13 that he had filed for the position with the message, “I have filed to be Speaker of the House. We are in Washington to legislate, and I want to lead a House that functions in the best interest of the American people.”
A few hours later, Scott gave Jordan his support with the following message on X: “I highly respect Jim Jordan. He is an asset to the Republican Party and our nominee for Speaker. Our conference has spoken, and now we must unite behind Jordan so we can get Congress back to work.”
Now that Jordan has secured the Republican nomination, he will likely face a challenge getting enough votes from the full House of Representatives. He will need 217 of 435 votes in order to win. Since the Republicans have a narrow majority in the House, it will require nearly all of the Republicans to vote for him. Since Jordan is supported by former President Donald Trump, it is unlikely that many Democrats, if any, will cast votes in his favor. Some moderate Republicans will also likely be reluctant to vote for him. If no Democrats vote for him, Jordan can only lose five votes and still win.
It has been over a week and a half since Kevin McCarthy was ousted as Speaker. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is currently the Speaker Pro Tempore until a new Speaker is chosen. Some members want to vote on Jordan as Speaker immediately, but Jordan may need some time to try to convince some members to come to his side.
