Republican Jim Jordan loses first vote for US House speaker
By David Morgan, Makini Brice and Moira Warburton
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Combative right-wing Republican Jim Jordan failed to win a first vote on Tuesday to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, but more votes were expected to follow that could wear down his opponents.
The Ohio lawmaker backed by former President Donald Trump won 200 votes, short of the 217 needed to win the job, as 20 of his fellow Republican voted against him. All 212 Democrats voted for their leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
The loss means that for now the House remains leaderless, as it has been since a handful of Republican hardliners engineered Kevin McCarthy's ouster as speaker two weeks ago. That has left Congress unable to respond to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, with just a month to go before the U.S. government faces another partial shutdown deadline.
It is not clear how many of Jordan's Republican opponents would hold firm in subsequent votes. McCarthy never got less than 200 votes in 15 rounds over four days in January.
If Jordan prevails, a conservative who has spent years fighting with leaders of his own party could end up in one of the most powerful jobs in Washington, putting him second in line for the presidency behind the vice president.
«He is a patriot, an America First warrior who wins the toughest of fights,» Republican Representative Elise Stefanik said as she nominated Jordan for speaker on the House floor.
Seven Republicans voted for Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican whose own bid for speaker fell apart last week and six voted instead for McCarthy. Three Republicans voted for Lee Zeldin, who retired from Congress in January, and Republican Representatives Tom Cole, Tom Emmer, Thomas Massie and Mike Garcia
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