After a third vote showed that Jordan received less support than the second vote, the Republican House voted for Jordan to be dropped from the race as speaker designee.
NEWS: Jordan has LOST his designation as the GOP speaker nominee. Vote was 86-112.
— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) October 20, 2023
Jordan was not able to gain any new supporters after a rather raucous meeting on Thursday night between the Republican members, including those who represented no votes.
CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona stated in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) that voting would end for the day, and that “other candidates will have until noon on Sunday to file their candidacy.”
Now, new puzzle pieces about the race for a speaker have emerged. According to Punchbowl’s original reporting, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R – CA) has endorsed House Minority Whip Tom Emmer for speaker.
The Hill has confirmed that former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, is supporting House Majority Leader Tom Emmer, a Republican from Minnesota for Speaker.
McCarthy was first quoted by Punchbowl News as saying: “He’s the right man for the job.” He can bring the conference together. He knows the dynamics of the Conference. He knows what it takes for a majority to be won and maintained.
🚨BREAKING — KEVIN MCCARTHY is endorsing TOM EMMER for speaker.
“He is the right person for the job. He can unite the conference. He understands the dynamics of the conference. He also understands what it takes to win and keep a majority.”
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 20, 2023
Emmer was just one of a half dozen candidates who were announced on Friday. The current list of confirmed names is as follows:
CONFIRMED PPL RUNNING FOR SPEAKER:
—Tom Emmer, Majority Whip
—Kevin Hern, RSC chair
—Byron Donalds, Freedom Caucus member
—Mike Johnson, vice conference chair & Judiciary member
—Jack Bergman, a former general
—Austin Scott, challenged Jordan last time— Melanie Zanona (@MZanona) October 20, 2023
CNN’s Zanona provided an update shortly after that tweet (note that the tweet was deleted/removed).
Two others strongly considering:—Mark Green, Homeland Security Chairman & Freedom Caucus chair
—Jodey Arrington, Budget Chairman
While I was writing this piece, Rep. Mark Green, R-TN, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee confirmed to his office that he would not be submitting his name.
The Hill reported that Rep. Jodey Arnt (R-TX), who is also in the race, has said he “is mulling over a bid to become speaker”.
He said he was “seriously considering” and “still praying about” the decision, adding that “there are a lot of people I need to speak to before this decision is made.” […]
The Texas lawmaker stated that he would discuss the issue with his state’s entire delegation, and “a number of members have requested us to take it into consideration.”
Now there’s a new timetable for when the voting will resume to determine who will be awarded the gavel of speaker:
The Republican Conference will host a candidate forum on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. and then vote for a new speaker-designate on Tuesday morning. Candidates must submit names by Sunday noon.
The New York Times reported that “some” had criticized the new voting timeline as being too late. Speaker Pro Tem, McHenry, explained the delay in this way referring to Scalise’s abbreviated tenure as speaker designee.
We need to give candidates the space and time to speak to other members. It is fair to say that Scalise was not given enough time.
We will keep you updated as this story develops.
