Jim Jordan to Make Third Try at Top Job in House

Despite deepening opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan made an impassioned push to become House speaker ahead of a Friday vote.

The House was scheduled to convene for Jordan's third try at the gavel later Friday morning in an effort to replace ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

"The American people are hungry for change," Jordan, who represents Ohio, said at the Capitol in an early morning press conference.

Drawing on his Ohio roots, Jordan positioned his bid alongside the history of American innovators including the Wright brothers, urging his colleagues to elect him to the speakership.

"We need to get to work for the American people," he said.

"I'm still running for speaker, and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race," said Jordan, a founder of the House Freedom Caucus.

His opponents say he is likely to fare worse this time than he has before.

The Republican majority has failed to unite behind Jordan or any other candidate to replace McCarthy, who was ousted by a handful of party members on Oct. 3. They also have been unable to agree on a fallback plan that would let the chamber take up legislation.

Jordan has failed to win the 217 votes needed to claim the speaker's gavel in votes on Tuesday and Wednesday.

He met privately Thursday with some of the 22 Republicans who have voted against him.

But the holdouts, some of whom have received death threats, said they were unmoved.

"We all told him that we're solid no's. That was the discussion. Now he's got a decision to make," Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., told reporters after the meeting.

Republicans control the House by a 221-212 margin, and Jordan has not gotten more than 200 votes so far.

A third failed vote could prompt Jordan to drop out, which would clear the way for other candidates to emerge.

Republicans also are divided on a backup option that could allow the chamber to address pressing matters, like Biden's aid package and spending legislation that would allow the U.S. government to keep functioning beyond a Nov. 17 deadline.

That plan would give more authority to Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who is filling the speaker's chair on a temporary basis. House Democrats and the White House have said they are open to the idea, but Republicans rejected that approach in a closed-door meeting on Thursday.

The impasse has exposed divisions between Republicans who aim to work within the rules of Washington politics and a hard-right faction that has taken the U.S. government to the brink of default and the edge of a shutdown.

Investors say the turmoil on Capitol Hill is also contributing to market volatility.

"People are really trying to figure out how they can unite around a body that has really done this self-inflicting wound," said Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla.

Jordan has built his reputation as a leader of that uncompromising right flank. His backers say that would make him an effective fighter for conservative policies in a town where Democrats control the Senate and the White House.

As chair of the Judiciary Committee, he is a leader of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

This report was compiled from Reuters and The Associated Press.