Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Friday received the Republican Party’s nomination for speaker of the House after Representative Steve Scalise (R-La.) dropped out of the race yesterday evening.
House Republicans had initially voted to select Scalise, who defeated Jim Jordan for the position 113-99 on Wednesday.
Jordan, in today’s round of voting, defeated Representative Austin Scott (R-Ga.) by a vote of 124-81.
The full House still needs to vote on a new speaker, where a nominee will need 217 votes in order to secure the position.
Jordan, a former collegiate wrestler and wrestling coach, is a member of the House Freedom Caucus and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. He holds a cumulative 82 percent score on The New American’s Freedom Index.
While conservative House members are no doubt supportive of Jordan, not all Republicans are planning to vote for him, and just five GOP representatives could block him in the full House vote. As noted by NBC News,
a handful of Republicans have already said they won’t vote for Jordan.
They include Reps. Ann Wagner of Missouri, and Don Bacon of Nebraska. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a powerful appropriator, called Jordan “straightforward” but expressed concerns about his ability to lead a very narrow majority, pointing to the fact that he could not flip votes in favor of Scalise after Jordan endorsed his one-time opponent.
Jordan is confident that he can secure the 217 votes needed to take the speaker’s gavel, telling CNN, “I think we’ll get 217 votes. I think we’ll get 217 votes — that’s the quickest way to get unified and get to the floor.”
