A version of this story appeared in the On Background newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive On Background delivered directly to your inbox each Friday.
At least half a dozen Republicans are weighing bids for House speaker after GOP lawmakers voted to give up on Rep. Jim Jordan’s quest for the gavel.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the chamber’s No. 3 Republican leader, has started making calls to determine whether he has enough support to win the nomination, a Capitol Hill source told The Washington Times.
Other candidates include Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia.
Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a staunch Jordan ally, and Rep. Jack Bergman, a retired Marine Corps general from Michigan, say they’ll also try to win the nomination.
The list could grow even longer as Republican lawmakers debate jumping into the now wide-open race.
Lawmakers gave Mr. Jordan the boot Friday in a secret ballot after the Ohio Republican lost three votes on the House floor. In each successive vote, his support eroded, underscoring the GOP’s increasing divide three weeks after a group of hard-line conservatives voted with all democrats to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“We have to go back to the drawing board,” Mr. McCarthy said. “I’m concerned about where we go from here.”
Earlier this month, before Mr. Jordan won the nomination, GOP lawmakers rejected another nominee, Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
The Scalise nomination for speaker was never tested in a House floor vote.
Republicans are becoming increasingly frustrated. House rules prohibited lawmakers from conducting legislative business until they elect a speaker.
“We must unify and do it fast,” Mr. Hern said when announcing his candidacy.
It’s not clear which candidate or if any candidate has enough votes to win the nomination. It will require winning at least a majority of the GOP votes, typically cast in a secret ballot. GOP lawmakers last week rejected a proposal to change the rules to increase the threshold to win the nomination.
Candidates have until Sunday to declare they are running.
House Republicans on Monday will hold a candidates forum behind closed doors.
Mr. Jordan, of Ohio, was the favorite of hard-line conservatives but was unable to garner the 217 votes needed to win the gavel thanks to opposition from more than two dozen Republican holdouts.
His opponents included many House appropriators who did not support his plans to aggressively reduce federal spending. Other holdouts would not back Mr. Jordan out of anger over the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, California Republican. He was pushed out by some of the same Republicans backing Mr. Jordan.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican and Jordan backer who led the effort to remove Mr. McCarthy, said Mr. Jordan was “knifed” by secret ballot.
“It’s as swampy as a swamp gets, and Jim Jordan deserved better than that,” Mr. Gaetz said.
• 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.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.