Speaker race wide open as Jordan drops out

Leadership chaos continues for House GOP

Also in today’s Saturday edition of ‘Regular Order’ for October 21, 2023:

• House Republicans to try again on Monday.

• Much different outcomes in public and in private.

• What I saw in the hallways when the Jordan news broke.

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SPEAKER. The GOP race for Speaker of the House blew wide open again on Friday, as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) abandoned his leadership bid, unable to convince fellow Republicans to give him a majority vote in the full House. Jordan’s decision set off a scramble which could see as many as a dozen Republicans trying to lead a party which has basically been unable to govern for much of this year.

• VOTE. Jordan’s decision came after he lost ground on the third ballot for Speaker. On Tuesday, 20 Republicans refused to support him. That grew to 22 on Wednesday. By Friday, it was 25 anti-Jordan votes - as it was clear he would never get to a majority needed for victory.

• GOP THREE. A trio of northeast Republicans abandoned Jordan on Friday: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Rep. Thomas Kean, Jr. (R-NJ), and Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY). All three hold districts where Joe Biden won in 2020.

• JORDAN. The GOP quickly convened behind closed doors and 112 Republicans voted against keeping him as the party's nominee. Jordan then dropped out. "We need to come together and figure out who our Speaker is going to be," Jordan told reporters.

• CRITICS. “Jim did right by the conference by stepping aside,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), a GOP freshman who had refused to support Jordan. “The consensus was not there.”

• ALLIES. Some Jordan supporters were bitter in defeat. "They took down the most popular member of Congress, hands down," said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA). "Now the hard part is to find a candidate that we're all going to vote for."

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RACE. Instead of staying on Capitol Hill this weekend, House Republicans aren’t due back until a candidate forum on Monday evening. GOP lawmakers have until Sunday afternoon to officially declare they are candidates for Speaker. Presumably, GOP voting behind closed doors could start as soon as Tuesday.

• WEEKEND. Some Republicans were furious about not working this weekend. "It shows a lack of leadership," said Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). “I think we should have locked ourselves in a room and worked through the day and night until we came up with a solution,” said Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA).

• VOTES. Others openly doubted the party would be able to rally around a Speaker candidate. "I can't imagine anybody who gets to 217 quickly," said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) of the quest for a majority on the House floor. "I can't even imagine anybody who gets 200 quickly."

• CANDIDATES. Jordan had barely made his decision to drop out when GOP lawmakers said they were in the race for Speaker - or at least considering it. The possible candidates include:

  • Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas

  • Rep. Jack Bergman of Michigan

  • Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida

  • Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota

  • Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma

  • Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana

  • Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania

  • Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia

  • Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas

  • Rep. Roger Williams of Texas

• ENDORSEMENT. Emmer - who is currently the third-ranking House Republican - quickly won the backing of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy. “He is the right person for the job,” McCarthy said. “He also understands what it takes to win and keep a majority.”

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DO-NOTHING HOUSE. It’s absolutely nuts to think that Republicans helped boot out their own Speaker, and now have blown three straight work weeks without finding a replacement. Democrats had the same slim majority last Congress - and passed all sorts of big bills. You can read my column about that in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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PUBLIC-PRIVATE. The Friday votes taken by House Republicans were emblematic of the impact that Donald Trump has had on the GOP. In public, most Republicans did not want to cross Trump, and so they stuck with Jordan. In private, they did not fear being attacked by the MAGA wing over their votes.

• VOTES. At 12 noon on the House floor, 194 Republicans voted for Jordan. Two hours later - in a secret ballot taken in a closed-door meeting - only 86 Republicans voted to keep Jordan as the GOP nominee for Speaker.

• GAETZ. "The most popular Republican in Congress was just knifed in an anonymous vote, in a secret closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol," fumed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL). "This is the Swamp at work."

• PERSONAL. But there was also something else at work. While Jordan is a hero on the Trump side of the party, he is detested by many of his colleagues. There is a reason that over 20 Republicans stood up to Jordan - they couldn't stand the idea of him as the Speaker of the House.

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GOP. It was three weeks ago today that the House approved a bipartisan plan to keep the government running through November 17. It was a sound political decision - but that angered GOP rebels, who soon moved to force out Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Since then, the House GOP has been a walking advertisement for a party that's not ready to govern.

• MCCARTHY. "We are in a very bad position as a party," McCarthy told reporters after Jordan had dropped out of the Speaker's race. "I'm concerned about where we go from here.”

• FLAT. Democrats had fun with McCarthy's nomination speech for Jordan on the House floor on Friday. When McCarthy called Jordan an 'effective legislator,' Democrats jeered and laughed out loud. In his 16 years in Congress, Jordan basically has no legislative accomplishments in terms of passing bills.

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LETTER. Maybe the most bizarre thing on Friday was when seven of the eight Republicans who pushed out McCarthy released a letter, asking to be punished - in exchange for approval of Jim Jordan as the next Speaker. "Six of my colleagues and I are prepared to accept censure, suspension, or removal from conference," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

• IRONY. On one hand, this was the first real public admission by Biggs, Gaetz, Burchett, Crane, Good, Mace, and Rosendale (Rep. Ken Buck refused to sign the letter) that those who forced out McCarthy had screwed up. "Our fidelity to Republican virtues and principles remains unwavering," they wrote.

SOAPBOX. Let me get up and say a few things about this GOP debacle. First, I have no idea what Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and others were thinking by getting rid of McCarthy - especially with no plan for what happened next. The next Speaker isn’t going to be able to negotiate any better legislative outcomes.

• SCALISE. Second, I have no idea how Jordan and his allies could lose the nomination vote to Majority Leader Steve Scalise - then engage in an operation to undermine Scalise - and then tell everyone to rally around Jordan because he won the nomination for Speaker. You can't play by the rules only sometimes.

• DIVISIONS. People are pissed off - and I mean, really mad. All of this GOP wrangling over the past three weeks has probably created lifelong enemies inside House Republican ranks. There will be people with scores to settle for years. All because you knocked out YOUR OWN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.

• SHUTDOWN. The House has been closed down for nearly three weeks now - and no one has any idea who in the Republican Party can garner the magic 217 votes on the House floor to elect a Speaker. The GOP agenda is dead in the water. This has been the biggest self-inflicted wound imaginable.

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SCENE. So, what did I see in the Capitol yesterday? After the third ballot vote on the House floor, Republicans brought in pizza and convened for yet another closed door meeting down in the basement of the Capitol. Inside, the GOP took a vote - by secret ballot - to see if Jordan should remain the nominee for Speaker. Reporters were jammed in the hallway waiting for the results.

• ACT I. The meeting was about an hour old when I stopped to chat with some colleagues. We all agreed that Jordan had to quit the race, because he was never going to get the votes to win. But we weren’t sure that was going to happen.

• ACT II. Suddenly, a few GOP lawmakers came out of the room. It's always hard to tell whether this means the meeting is over. But there was something different that we noticed right away. No one would talk to us.

• MODE. With no one answering our basic schedule questions, you could feel the hallway surge with energy - as we all suddenly jumped from hallway chat mode into journalism beast mode.

• MONDAY. Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) was the first to give us any news. "We'll be back Monday night," he said, adding that new candidates for Speaker had until Sunday afternoon to declare for the post.

• FRENZY. Seconds later, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL) told us that Jordan had dropped out, adding in the vote totals. By this point, groups of reporters were mobbing GOP lawmakers as they pushed into the elevators.

• RUNNING. Immediately, the question turned to who might run. “I'm strongly considering it,” said Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), as reporters hustled to grab comments from Republicans who weren’t thrilled to talk.

• RUSH. That went on for another 15 minutes. And then, suddenly the hallway was quiet. Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) came by and was offering pizza to reporters. My notes show I got quotes from 12 lawmakers in 16 minutes. And we will do it all again starting on Monday evening.

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RAP SHEET. A Florida man has been found guilty of charges related to his actions on Jan. 6. John Crowley joined other rioters in the Lower West Terrace Tunnel fight against dozens of police officers that day. "It was Patriots that stormed the capital, not antifa," he texted a friend.

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MUSE OF HISTORY. October 21, 1803. Most people know John Quincy Adams was not only President, but also served in the House. But on this date, Adams was sworn in as a U.S. Senator, elected by the Massachusetts legislature. “At 11. this morning, I took my seat,” Adams wrote in his diary. “There was little business done, and the Senate adjourned soon after 12.” Later, Adams stopped by the White House to see President Jefferson - “and not finding him at home, left a Card.”

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LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House meets next on Tuesday.

The Senate next has votes on Tuesday.

Check President Biden’s schedule.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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