The Republican Jim Jordan also failed in the third attempt to be elected chairman of the US House of Representatives. Due to dissenting votes from his own group, the confidant of former US President Donald Trump once again failed to achieve the necessary majority in the vote on Friday. The 59-year-old had already failed to obtain the required number of votes in the parliamentary chamber in two previous rounds of voting this week.
Jordan got 194 votes from his group in the vote on Friday and 25 party colleagues voted against him. This means he lost more votes compared to the previous votes. The Republicans only have a slim majority in the House of Representatives. The group currently has 221 seats in the parliamentary chamber, the Democrats have 212 seats – not all MPs were present for the vote. The right-wing hardliner Jordan can only afford very few dissenters because of his party’s narrow majority. He cannot count on support from the Democratic ranks.
In recent days, Jordan had tried to win over internal party opponents to his side. Some reported feeling threatened and pressured by Jordan’s supporters. It is unclear whether he will be able to win enough skeptics from within his own ranks to his side. Another Republican caucus meeting was scheduled for Friday. Until a new chairman is chosen, legislative work in Congress is largely idle.
