Republicans nominated Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on Friday, a day after Majority Leader Steve Scalise abandoned the nomination when he could not garner enough support to survive a vote on the House floor.
Mr. Jordan, a conservative firebrand from Ohio who chairs the Judiciary Committee, also lacks the backing of the entire conference and will have to round up far more than the 124 votes he received from the rank and file to win the nomination in a secret ballot.
It will take roughly 217 GOP votes to elect a Republican speaker on the House floor.
Mr. Jordan, 59, ran against Rep. Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican whom many viewed as a proxy for Mr. Scalise.
Mr. Scott received 81 votes.
Republicans remain behind closed doors, where they are voting a second time to determine how many more votes Mr. Jordan can win now that he has the clear majority.
“Jim Jordan received a majority vote, “ said Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana. “He still has a lot of votes to overcome.”
Republicans have not set a time for a House floor vote.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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