A messy scene continues to play out in the House of Representatives this week as the GOP scrambles to find a Speaker that can get enough votes, and amid the chaos former President Donald Trump solidly put his weight behind Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.
“Jim Jordan will be a GREAT Speaker of the House,” said Trump in a Tuesday Truth Social post. “As everyone knows, I have long ago given him my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
However, Jordan has already failed twice to secure enough votes for the position, which is second in line to the presidency. During a Tuesday vote, 20 Republicans voted against him. After working to get more supporters, Jordan actually lost two more during a Wednesday vote, per the Associated Press.
Trump is a powerful force in the Republican party. According to FiveThirtyEight polling updated Tuesday, he had support from 57% of Republican voters ahead of the GOP 2024 presidential candidate primary.
He’s also voiced his support for Jordan – a former wrestling champion and co-founder of the far-right Freedom Caucus – before.
“As President, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom,” said Trump in an Oct. 6 Truth Social post. “So much is learned from sports, and Jim was a master!”
That was just a few days after Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, the former Speaker, was ousted by his own party. Members of the Freedom Caucus led the charge against McCarthy, citing issues with government spending.
Despite Trump’s influence in the party and his strong support of Jordan, the House Speaker turmoil continues.
Former GOP lawmaker David Jolly has called Jordan an “insurrectionist” for supporting Trump’s unfounded claims about election fraud related to the 2020 presidential election. These claims are linked to the deadly Jan 6., 2021 Capitol riot where insurrectionists attempted to overturn the election results.
ABC’s Steven Portnoy told Audacy Tuesday that some GOP members are also wary of Jordan due to his lack of experience with leadership and fundraising. Before Jordan, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana threw his hat into the ring to be Speaker. He pulled out after failing to get enough votes.
In order to become Speaker of the House, McCarthy endured round after round of voting. After losing more votes, the Associated Press said Wednesday that Jordan’s path to the position “was almost certainly lost.”
What comes next for the House is still uncertain – an uncomfortable reality as war rages in Ukraine and Israel, with the U.S. providing aid to both. Furthermore, a budget deadline is looming on Nov. 17, and without a Speaker, the House can’t get anything done.
“Next steps were highly uncertain as angry, frustrated lawmakers looked at other options,” said the AP. “A bipartisan group of lawmakers floated an extraordinary plan — to give the interim speaker-pro-tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., more power to reopen the immobilized House and temporarily conduct routine business.”
Jordan’s failure to nab the Speaker position is just one miss for Trump this week. Though his GOP polling is still strong, it was down slightly Tuesday compared to Monday. Survey results released this week also showed that President Joe Biden had a four-point lead on Trump in a hypothetical 2024 presidential campaign matchup.