Jim Jordan wants to try again to become the Speaker of the US House of Representatives. He plans to ask for a third vote, since Republicans decided not to follow their backup plan.
The congressman from Ohio previously said he would support a temporary plan that lets Patrick McHenry be in charge of the House.
But the Republicans strongly criticized the decision, with some individuals reportedly raising their voices and using profanity during a heated meeting on Thursday.
The main group in Congress called the lower chamber has been without a leader for the last 16 days.
If there is no Speaker, the House cannot pass bills or approve a request for aid to Israel and Ukraine from the White House.
After the meeting on Thursday, Mr. Jordan told reporters that he still wants to be the Speaker and he intends to go to the voting area, gather the votes, and win the competition.
His representative, Russell Dye, said that the House would have another vote to choose the Speaker when it starts working at 10:00 in the morning (local time) on Friday.
However, during the last two days, Mr. Jordan has been unable to receive more than 200 votes in a row. He needs 217 votes to win.
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has received criticism for using scary tactics and even receiving threats to harm lawmakers from some of the people who support him.
Earlier today, Mr. Jordan told his colleagues that he will not hold any more votes. Instead, he will support Mr. McHenry to handle the House’s business for a month or longer.
Mr McHenry, a politician from North Carolina who often wears a bow tie, was chosen as the temporary Speaker after a surprising vote to remove Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.
He believes that he only has a little power to lead floor votes and choose a permanent Speaker, following the rules set after the 9/11 attacks.
However, lawyers say that if most of the people in the chamber agree to give him more power, then the House can continue to work as it usually does.
Members from both political parties, including two former Republican Speakers, have suggested the possibility of increasing Mr McHenry’s authority until January. This would enable him to oversee important matters related to creating new laws.
This could potentially allow Mr. McHenry to help pass laws to prevent a government shutdown next month, and provide aid to Israel and Ukraine.
Republicans who agree with the idea have said that the House needs to continue with its work instead of prolonging its internal disagreements.
Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida stated that it is important to bring the conservative agenda back on the right path. He has not yet supported Mr.
Nebraska’s Don Bacon, who is against Jordan’s ideas, said: “I fully support McHenry. ” I really like McHenry city.
But many more Republicans became angry about the plan, with emotions running high during a long private meeting.
Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida, strongly criticized the proposal to empower Mr. McHenry, calling it a violation of the Constitution.
We have to remain here until we choose a Speaker. If anyone cannot get enough votes, we have to move on to the next person.
Mr Gaetz said that Mr. McCarthy yelled at him and another coworker came at him aggressively in a meeting earlier on Thursday that felt very intense, like a Thanksgiving dinner.
“Mr McCarthy said that the entire conference yelled at him. ” A Republican from California said to reporters when they asked about the argument.
Jim Banks, a politician from Indiana who supports conservative ideas, believed that about half of the members of his party would oppose the proposal. He thought that this proposal went against what the people who voted for the Republican party wanted.
Some people, like New York Republican Elise Stefanik, think that if Mr McHenry is elected despite internal opposition, it would lead to a government with the support of Democrats.
“We need to bring Republicans together” to support Mr Jordan, the congresswoman wrote on X.
On Thursday, the Democrats didn’t mention if they would support Mr. McHenry as Speaker.
However, some said they were okay with the idea. Lou Correa from California told the BBC, “We’ve been without a Speaker for a few days. ”
“I heard the rumor is that they will give McHenry power until January – I’m okay with that,” he said.
But several Republicans came out of their party conference saying that the choice is no longer possible.
Mr Jordan wants another Speaker vote. Democrats will likely vote all together for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, just like they did before.
No one else has been chosen as a replacement for Mr. Jordan or Mr. Jeffries, so the House’s leadership crisis is not going away anytime soon.