Rep. Jim Jordan accepts reality on Speaker run, pauses bid

Jim Jordan decided to withdraw himself from consideration from the speakership on Oct. 19, 2023. WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 19: U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is followed by reporters after leaving an hours-long House Republican members meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The GOP members considered empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-RC) but Jordan says he will now continue to seek a third vote to become Speaker of the House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On Rep Jim Jordan's bid to become the Speaker of the House of Representatives met an impasse and it seemed like his pursuit of the seat was coming to an end.Thursday, October 19 Ohio GOP He had failed to meet a 217 vote threshold to secure the position twice. On the second attempt he lost votes instead of gaining any. Numbers for his opponent, Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrat from New York, did not budge. Progress was not foreseeable for either man.

So Jordan pivoted, but he didn't give up. He simply faced the reality that time and circumstance were not on his side. Baked into the quest were unchangeable factors like another budget deadline approaching, U.S ally Israel being at war and numerous bills that need attention. The mathematical stalemate meant that no one was going to get enough backing. The Trump-aligned lawmaker does plan to seek more votes after spending more time rallying support from among the 22 Republicans who are against him.

A third vote was not taken on Thursday. Jordan opted for a a longer stretch on campaigning for inner-caucus buy-in and decided to support the Speaker Pro Tempore form North Carolina Patrick McHenry to hold the post until January 3.

On Friday morning Jordan will hold a press conference likely to state his desires publicly and firmly place his support behind McHenry. This pln, for now, releases the Republican arm of the Congress to get back to business. But he chaos in the Rblican caucus lately, the question is will this plan work?

UPDATES

- A third vote was taken on 10/20. Jordan lost more votes.

- On Friday afternoon Jordan withdrew his name from consideration.