*This is a developing story. Updates will be added as they happen.
3:30 p.m. – Rep Tom Emmer (R-MN), the majority whip, has been making calls in pursuit of a nomination to be the Speaker of the House, according to a source close to the lawmaker. Emmer had previously said he would not seek the speakership, hoping instead to become the House Majority Leader. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) voted for Emmer in the most recent votes for speaker, and even one Democrat – Dean Phillips of Minnesota – suggested him as a possible replacement for McCarthy.
Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) will also be seeking the speakership, according to his spokesperson. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) is telling fellow members of Congress he’s gunning for the gavel, and Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson, the vice conference chair, is making calls to get himself nominated for speaker.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, however, will assures that he will not be seeking the speakership again.
2:32 p.m. – Representative Kevin Hern of Oklahoma has thrown his hat into the ring for House speaker. He said:
“I just voted for my good friend Jim Jordan to stay as our speaker designate, but the conference has determined that he will no longer hold that title. We just had two speaker designates go down. We must unify and do it fast.
I’ve spoken to every member of the conference over the last few weeks. We need a different type of leader who has a proven track record of success, which is why I’m running for speaker of the House.”
2:10 p.m. – According to multiple news outlets, Rep. Jim Jordan has lost a secret GOP ballot that removes him from the position of speaker designate. Rep. Steve Scalise announced that the party would start over again on Monday in their efforts to name a new Speaker of the House.
2:00 p.m. – In an effort to unite the party behind Jim Jordan, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) posted a message on X of a letter signifying that he and the other members who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy, would voluntarily accept censure if the conference were to back Jordan for speaker. He posted:
“BREAKING: All 8 Republicans Who Voted to Remove McCarthy From Speakership Are Willing to Accept “Censure, Suspension, or Removal From the Conference” In Order to Elect @Jim_Jordan as Speaker “If the holdouts who refuse to vote for Speaker-Designate Jim Jordan would be willing to ‘vote with the team’ and elect him the 56th House Speaker, we are prepared to accept censure, suspension, or removal from the Conference to accomplish this objective.”
12:05 p.m. –After about an hour of voting and tallying, the final count for the first attempt of the day was:
- Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): 210
- Jim Jordan (R-OH): 194
- Steve Scalise (R-LA): 8
- Patrick McHenry (R-NC): 6
- Lee Zeldin (R-NY): 4
- Kevin McCarthy (R-CA): 2
- Byron Donalds (R-FL): 2
- Bruce Westerman (R-AR): 1
- Mike Garcia (R-CA): 1
- Tom Emmer (R-MN): 1
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
With no member receiving a majority vote, Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry called a recess.
11:10 a.m. – After a roll call vote in which 427 members announced their presence (all but two Republicans and four Democrats), Kevin McCarty nominated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to be Speaker of the House. He followed his nomination with a speech in Jordan’s favor, during which some representatives applauded while others laughed or booed. Immediately after, the minority whip, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, nominated Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). After her speech, a vote was called down the roster alphabetically, letting each representative call out the name of the nominee they support.
Jim Jordan Speaks – But Will He Be Speaker?
On the heels of President Biden’s prime-time address from the Oval Office, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) announced a press conference of his own. The president spoke Thursday, October 19, of the wars in Israel and Ukraine, linking the two in hopes of drumming up support for a massive budget request that would see billions of taxpayer dollars sent off to Ukraine and Israel in the form of military assistance. When Jordan spoke at 8 a.m. Eastern the next morning, it came across as a clear message to the House GOP that it’s time to elect a Speaker of the House.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Jordan extolled America’s ability to do anything, pointing out how quickly we went from the Wright brothers’ first flight to Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. Then he called for his fellow representatives to come together to elect a Speaker of the House today so that Congress can get back to business, including the American response to the war between Israel and Hamas. He said his piece – a message to the GOP that may or may not be taken as political grandstanding in an attempt to push his colleagues into action – and he kept both his initial remarks and his answers to press questions brief.
The House is scheduled to meet today at 10 a.m. Eastern to begin again the process. The current contenders are Jordan and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the minority leader in the House – but other names could come up, and Jordan certainly gave the impression the voting will continue through multiple rounds today if that’s what it takes. Stay tuned to Liberty Nation as we cover the process from start to finish, however long it takes, with live updates throughout the day.
*This is a developing story. Updates will be added as they happen.
