Republicans Nominate Jim Jordan to Be Speaker – But He’s Still ‘Far Short’ Of the Votes He Needs

Republicans nominated Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to be the next speaker of the House on Friday after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) withdrew his nomination.

Scalise was nominated by the Republican conference this week but did not have a majority of votes needed among his conservative colleagues.

The failure of Republicans to choose a speaker comes a week after the House ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the position. That vote was triggered when Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate the chair. Eight Republicans joined 208 Democrats in voting for his removal.

If all members cast a ballot, Jordan will need 217 votes, which is a majority of the House since two of the chamber’s 435 seats are vacant. After news broke of Jordan’s nomination, CNN’s Manu Raju reported the Ohioan is still “far short” of that number at the moment.

Raju reported that 55 House Republicans said they will not vote for Jordan.

“Jim Jordan just won his party’s nomination to be speaker of the House,” he reported. “He won a majority of House Republicans, but he is far short of the votes that he would ultimately need on the House floor to be elected speaker of the House.”

Jordan defeated Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA), who threw his hat into the ring on Friday morning. The Georgia Republican expressed frustration with the conference’s failure to unite behind a speaker.

“Makes us look like a bunch of idiots,” he said.

The final tally was 124 votes for Jordan and 81 for Scott.

Watch above via CNN.