US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is closing in on securing the House speakership after shoring up support over the weekend, potentially setting up a political showdown for the chamber's leadership.
Jordan emerged as the front-runner for the House speaker position after his main rival, US Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), dropped out after winning an internal Republican vote but failing to secure enough support to win on the House floor.
Subsequent Republican caucus votes pitted Jordan against US Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), with Jordan winning by a larger margin than Scalise, but still short of the 217 votes needed to secure the vote in the House.
As of Sunday night, 10 to 20 Republicans were planning to vote against Jordan, a number now down to seven, according to a House Republican who spoke to US media. The Republican added officials believe Jordan will secure the leadership position.
Republicans plan to call for a vote on the speakership Tuesday.
On Monday, some of Jordan’s most staunch opponents expressed support for the Ohio Republican. Rep. Mike Rodgers (R-AK), who said on Sunday that there was nothing Jordan could do to win his vote, said he supported him after “two cordial, thoughtful and productive” conversations that addressed his concerns.
Reps. Ann Wagner (R-MO), Ken Calvert (R-CA) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL) also expressed support for Jordan on Monday after initially opposing him. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told a constituent this weekend that he plans to “probably just vote for” Jordan.
The coalescing behind Jordan follows reports and comments by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries that informal conversations had begun between moderate Republicans and Democrats about selecting a bipartisan speaker. A recent poll showed that a large majority of Democrats and a significant minority of Republicans would support such a move.
While no Republican representatives admitted that the development encouraged them to get behind Jordan, some expressed a desire to prevent Democrats from selecting a speaker.
“Too much is at stake to hand control of the House to radical liberal Democrats,” Wagner said, “which is why we must elect a conservative as the next speaker.”
The last representative to vote for a member of the other party for speaker was Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH) who voted for the Republican nominee in 2001. In response, Democrats stripped him of his committee assignments.