- On Thursday, US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) agreed to temporarily pause his House speaker bid and instead support a proposal to empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) until January, according to several sources familiar with the matter. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- The decision — which comes a day after he lost a second attempt to be elected speaker, with 22 Republicans voting against him — would see Jordan carry on as the speaker designee and allow him to call a vote at his discretion. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- This comes after he lost a first round of voting on Tuesday, when 20 Republicans voted against Jordan, who accumulated a total of 200 votes for his speakership — one more than Wednesday's vote. Associated Press (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- A majority of 217 is needed for Jordan, or any other candidate, to be elected speaker. The House has now remained without a speaker for 16 days after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Ca.) was removed in an unprecedented vote. BBC News (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- Fifteen rounds of voting were necessary to appoint McCarthy as speaker in January this year. Without a speaker, the House is unable to pass legislation — including packages to Ukraine and Israel — as well as an agreement on federal government funding in order to avoid a shutdown next month. Forbes (LR: 3 CP: 5)
- A majority vote in the House to grant McHenry additional powers and allow him to continue on until January would allow Congress to get back to work. The House assembled on Thursday at noon EST before recessing. It's unknown when it will reconvene. Washington Post (LR: 2 CP: 5)
Democratic narrative:
- While Democrats continue to hold their arm out for a bipartisan solution, Republicans continue to ignore the severe reality of the chamber's situation – continuing to play party politics. The House must go back to work, and far-right nominees such as Jordan – a Trump apologist – will get nowhere in speaker elections. For the House to get back up and running again, Republicans must accept the olive branch presented to them.
MSNBC (LR: 1 CP: 5)
Republican narrative:
- Jordan appears to have only lost more ground in the last 24 hours. While the congressman has attempted to convince his party that it's time to unite after weeks of political uncertainty, there is a significant portion of Republicans who have not yet yielded. While Jordan will continue to rally fellow members of the House during this pause, other options within the party should certainly not be dismissed from consideration.
National Review (LR: 5 CP: 5)
Conservative narrative:
- The 22 Republicans who voted against Jordan aren't doing so out of their duty to the institution or love of country; they're war-mongering RINOs who long for the days of George Bush's presidency. This was proven by their decision to vote for John Boehner, a former speaker and member of the old class of neoconservatives. Unfortunately for them, however, the country has changed, and so has the party.
My Truth News
Nerd narrative:
- There is a 19% chance that Jim Jordan will be elected speaker of the US House of Representatives following Kevin McCarthy's removal, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)