Republicans this weekend are no closer than they were at the start of the week to electing a House Speaker.
In fact, they are actually farther away — they don’t even have a nominee.
At least on Tuesday they were holding their first floor vote on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).
But Jordan has now been voted out by a majority of Republicans, after he bled support on each of the three votes taken on his nomination.
At this point, it’s fair to ask whether House Republicans can govern themselves, much less provide government leadership.
By the time they gather Monday night for a candidate forum to consider new candidates, it will have been nearly three weeks since former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.
During that time, consider the following:
- The first GOP nominee, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, dropped out even before a vote was ever taken on the House floor.
- Jordan became the nominee and lost more votes on each succeeding ballot, until Friday, when he received only 194 votes.
- On Thursday, Jordan floated the idea of making Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry a caretaker for a few months, so the House could get back to work. Conservatives revolted and Jordan, after considering withdrawing, vowed to fight another day — until Friday, when he lost again.
- Several Republicans who opposed Jordan complained of receiving death threats, including to family members. “We share the same conservative values and principles, so to get those threats, and to be intimidated by members of our own party (is) really frustrating, especially for people like me,” said Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA).
- Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), in addition to getting threats, said the landlord for his main Colorado office gave him an eviction notice because he had opposed Jordan.
Republicans who left the closed-door meeting on Friday after voting to move on from Jordan were alternately frustrated, angry and dejected. Some are also embarrassed at their party’s inability to choose its own leader, especially at a time when the crisis in the Middle East shows no sign of abating.
Many were leaving Washington with the House still paralyzed, just a day after President Biden addressed the nation and called on Congress to pass aid for Israel and Ukraine.
Among the many exasperated lawmakers is Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), chair of the Main Street Caucus, a group that prides itself on being “pragmatic conservatives who get things done.”
“Republicans really need to come together and find someone who is more interested in doing something than in being something,” said Johnson, who voted for Jordan. “Back to square one.”
“I think it’s incredibly disappointing,” he added. “But listen, it’s time for the big boys and big girls to quit whining about the fact that 208 Democrats and eight Republicans threw us into total disarray without any plan and instead develop a can-do attitude on how we can move forward.”
At least a half dozen Republican lawmakers are now considering running for House Speaker.
Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), the chair of the Republican Study Committee, said Friday he’ll seek the speakership. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who received some votes as Jordan sought to become Speaker, is also expected to run.
But can any Republican lawmaker get the 217 votes needed to become the next Speaker?
GOP lawmakers keep saying they need to come together. But then they fail to come together.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), who opposed Jordan, said the next Speaker “should be somebody who’s not named Scalise, Jordan or even McCarthy.”
Gimenez had been one of the few who continued to publicly support McCarthy as Jordan made his run.
“Sometimes a team needs a tough blow to become a stronger team,” he said. “So now we need each other. We’re not the opposition. The opposition’s on the other side of the aisle. The opposition’s the White House.”
But for the past several weeks, the Republican opposition has just been other Republicans.