These 20 Republicans Did Not Vote for Jim Jordan for Speaker – And It’s Unclear If They Ever Will

 

Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) lost his bid to become the next speaker of the House on Tuesday after he failed to gain a majority of the House’s support. Twenty Republicans voted for members other than the Ohio lawmaker, who has cut a divisive figure on the right, especially in recent days as his supporters reportedly tried to strong-arm holdouts.

Jordan needed to notch 217 votes in the 433-member chamber (which has two vacancies) but he received just 200. Afterward, the House adjourned for the day and will reconvene on Wednesday when Jordan is slated to get another crack at 217.

Here are the 20 Republican representatives who voted for other members, including one former member (Lee Zeldin):

Don Bacon (R-NE) – Kevin McCarthy.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) – McCarthy.
Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) – Lee Zeldin
Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) – Steve Scalise
Jake Ellzey (R-TX) – Mike Garcia
Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) – Zeldin
Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) – McCarthy
Tony Gonzales (R-TX) – Scalise
Kay Granger (R-TX) – Scalise
Mike Kelly (R-PA) – Scalise
Jen Kiggans (R-VA) – McCarthy
Nick LaLota (R-NY) – Zeldin
Mike Lawler (R-NY) – McCarthy
John Rutherford (R-FL) – Scalise
Mike Simpson (R-ID) – Scalise
Steve Womack (R-AR) – Scalise
Ken Buck (R-CO) – Tom Emmer
John James (R-MI) – Tom Cole
Doug LaMalfa (R-CA.) – McCarthy
Victoria Spartz (R-IN) – Thomas Massie

Last week the House GOP conference nominated Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) speaker, but he withdrew his candidacy after it became clear he did not have the votes. Jordan has taken a different approach by moving ahead with a scheduled vote and a defeat. He will need to do more lobbying among the holdouts, but several – particularly the New York members – represent districts won by President Joe Biden.

Jordan has been a longtime bugbear for Democrats, who would likely hang a Speaker Jordan like an albatross around those lawmakers’ necks going into the elections next year.

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Mike is a Mediaite senior editor who covers the news in primetime. Follow him on Bluesky.