Jordan fails to win House speakership in second vote

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Republican Rep. Jim Jordan again failed to win the House speaker’s gavel in a second vote on Wednesday, faring worse than he did during the first round of voting one day earlier. The loss raises serious questions over whether the Ohio Republican has a viable path forward as he confronts steep opposition and the House remains in a state of paralysis.

Despite the defeat, Jordan has vowed to stay in the race and said the House plans to hold a third speaker vote on Thursday at noon ET. Without a speaker, the chamber is effectively frozen, a precarious position that comes amid conflict abroad and a potential government shutdown next month.

The conservative Republican’s struggle to gain traction has also highlighted the limits of Donald Trump’s influence in the speaker’s race after the former president endorsed Jordan.

Here’s what else you should know about today’s developments:

Interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry didn’t rule out supporting a GOP resolution to expand his powers in the role, telling CNN his focus is on getting Rep. Jim Jordan elected after the speaker designate lost his second vote for the gavel on Wednesday. 

“My focus is on electing Jim Jordan speaker,” he told CNN when asked if he would support the amendment from GOP Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio to expand his power if it was brought to the floor.  

The North Carolina Republican said House GOP leadership wanted the option for another speaker vote at noon ET on Thursday, but that it is ultimately up to Jordan. 

Jordan told CNN the plan is for the House to gather again for a third speaker vote at noon ET Thursday.

Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a chief Republican opponent of Jim Jordan’s speakership bid, told CNN on Wednesday that the speaker designee would lose a “bigger chunk” of GOP floor votes on a third ballot.

Diaz-Balart, an 11-term South Florida congressman, said he would “never” back Jordan for speaker, adding, “If he does it again, he’s going to lose a bigger chunk.”

Jordan lost a second vote for his speakership bid today, with 22 Republicans voting against him. Twenty Republicans opted not to back him on the first ballot on Tuesday.

Diaz-Balart has voted for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise for speaker on both floor votes so far.

The House is set for a third speaker vote at noon ET on Thursday.

House Republican supporters of a resolution to temporarily empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry are working to maximize GOP votes and educate members about the effort, multiple sources tell CNN. 

This comes as Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s allies have been actively trying to sink such a measure, deriding it as an abuse of power or an example of “coalition government.”

Because of the intraparty divisions, Democratic support would likely be needed to approve the measure. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN earlier today that his caucus has not yet made a decision on whether they’d back such a temporary solution.

But GOP proponents of the resolution want to have as much Republican buy-in as possible before they bring it to the floor, in order to guard against accusations that it’s a Democratic solution to their speaker impasse.

Republican Rep. Dave Joyce of Ohio has been leading the charge over the effort. He was expected force a floor vote on a resolution as early as today but held off. After Jordan’s second failed floor vote for the speakership, Joyce told CNN he wants to have a meeting of the House GOP Conference to combat misinformation and make his case for the idea before his colleagues.

Joyce’s resolution, according to sources familiar with it, would empower McHenry until either early January or until a new permanent speaker is elected.

Empowering McHenry would expand his abilities beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially moving legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

McHenry has been serving as interim speaker since Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position earlier this month.

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, who lost a second vote for the speakership today, told CNN that the plan is for the House to gather again for a third speaker vote at noon ET Thursday.

Asked what he hoped to accomplish that he couldn’t do today, Jordan said Republicans are going to keep working. He said the House needs a speaker. 

Pushed on whether that’s going to be him at this point, the speaker designee said, “I believe so, yes.”  

The GOP conference will not have a meeting tonight.

CNN’s Melanie Zanona and Haley Talbot contributed reporting to this post.

Rep. Jim Jordan says he doesn’t think there will be another floor vote tonight for House speaker, but the Ohio Republican is going to talk to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry about the schedule. 

Jordan, who lost a second floor vote for the speakership Wednesday, said “yes” when asked if he was going to stay in the race. He said the House has to get a speaker.

Asked whether a resolution that would empower McHenry should be brought up for a vote, Jordan said that would be a decision for the Republican Conference.

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

McHenry has been serving as interim speaker since Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position earlier this month.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN on Wednesday that his caucus has not yet made a decision on whether to back a Republican resolution that would assert that interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry has legislative power overseeing the chamber floor on a temporary basis.

Jeffries said the first thing Democrats are aiming to achieve is to stop Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for the speakership.

The New York Democrat said that if Ohio Rep. Dave Joyce brings forward his resolution to empower McHenry and attempt to force a vote today, then Democrats would meet behind closed doors and decide whether to vote for it. Democratic votes are expected to be essential for the resolution’s chances of passage because the GOP is split on such a measure. 

“We haven’t had that discussion yet as a caucus,” Jeffries told CNN.

“The Republicans have to end this saga, as opposed to us having another futile effort to elevate and insurrectionists to lead the House of Representatives,” he added.

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, the No. 2 Democrat in the chamber, told CNN that Democrats hope Republicans will come to them after Jordan’s second failed speakership bid.

“The ball is in their court. This is their civil war. They’re the majority. They have to elect a speaker,” Clark told CNN.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said that it’s up to Republicans to make the first move.

“They have their majority, they won the election. It’s their responsibility to elect their speaker,” the California Democrat said. “Our leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has been magnificent in saying there’s a path for us to work together. But clearly they have not taken advantage of that.”

Pelosi also called it a “real triumph for democracy” that Jordan lost the floor vote today.

“Really, it’s a big relief that whatever his name is didn’t win today, because it would have been a horrible thing. Two steps away from the presidency,” she told CNN. 

Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack derided what he referred to as the “attack, attack, attack” tactics of allies of Speaker designee Jim Jordan against those members who have voted against his speakership bid.

“Frankly, just based on what I’ve been through – I can only speak to myself and what my staff has been through over the last 24 or 48 hours – it is obvious what the strategy has been: Attack, attack attack. Attack the members who don’t agree with you, attack them, beat them into submission,” Womack said Wednesday.

Womack has backed House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in the two rounds of voting for the speakership so far.

The seven-term congressman said there was a big difference between the 20 GOP members who were initially opposed to Kevin McCarthy during the January speakership vote and the 20 lawmakers — now 22 after the second round of voting — who are opposed to Jordan. It’s that distinction that Womack believes will ultimately deny Jordan the speaker’s gavel. 

“The 20 in January all wanted something. The 20 now, they don’t want anything. And so the level of opposition is profound,” Womack said as he left the House floor Wednesday “It’s one thing when you want something and you have a chance to get it and there’s an opportunity for you to move. It’s a whole different ballgame when you are opposed on principle and start being attacked. And I can speak to it, because I’ve been attacked.”

“And it has not helped one iota,” Womack said. “That won’t work with us. So … if the whole battle plan was to attack them, give him time to expose those members and go after them, then it’s an abject failure. They didn’t read the room very well.”

Interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry said he remains “focused on getting our Speaker-designate across the floor and into the Speaker’s chair.”

He wouldn’t answer if he would accept the expanded powers that some Republicans are discussing possibly giving to the interim speaker.

McHenry said he’s not sure if there’s a conference meeting happening today. 

“We are working on that.”

Rep. Warren Davidson, an ally of fellow Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, said Wednesday after the GOP speaker nominee lost a second ballot for the speakership that Jordan shouldn’t drop out of the race because, in his view, the people opposed to him don’t have a problem with Jordan, they have issues with the events of the past two weeks. 

“It’s not an objection to his plan to avoid an omnibus … so you feel optimistic that since it’s not that you’re opposed to Jim, and it’s not that you’re opposed to the plan, that eventually you’re gonna get there,” Davidson said. 

Meanwhile, the House remains in a holding pattern, and Jordan has not said what his next step will be. 

GOP Rep. Troy Nehls said he spoke to former President Donald Trump last night but would not elaborate on what they discussed.

“We spoke … I talked to him last night. I am willing to hang with (Jim) Jordan but at some point in time we have to figure out what we are gonna do,” he said. 

Nehls suggested we “should bring (Trump) back to straighten out our conference.” 

He also said he would be open to expanding interim Speaker Patrick McHenry’s powers. 

“I support that,” he said of expanding McHenry’s powers in order to move legislation forward. 

Nehls voiced frustration with the divide in the conference. “People right now are dug in. How do you recover from that? What is the path forward?,” Nehls asked, while voicing his personal support for Jordan still. 

He said he has constituents telling him the GOP looks “confused and lost” as they try and navigate the battle for speaker. 

GOP Rep. Mike Lawler says he believes Jim Jordan has no path forward as Republicans remain divided over empowering interim speaker Patrick McHenry. 

“It’s clear he doesn’t have the votes. Obviously it’s up to him if he wants to put it to a third ballot, I think you’ll see more folks dropping off on a third ballot,” Lawler told CNN’s Manu Raju. “I don’t see the outcome changing here.” 

He added: “I think it’s imperative that we empower Patrick McHenry to serve at least for the time being in that speaker role so that he can get the House moving again.”

Lawler — who has voted against Jordan twice — also said he remains firm in his conviction that ousted speaker McCarthy should be the leader of the House and the Republican conference. 

“I continue to believe that Kevin McCarthy is the right person to lead this House. He never should have been removed as speaker,” he said. 

Lawler continued: “Democrats need to look in the mirror here. They helped create this mess so they’re going to have to help get out of it. So if a resolution is put on the floor to give Patrick the ability to serve as a temporary speaker it would be the height of hypocrisy to vote against it.” 

And when asked about how the current chaos could impact him in 2024 given that he comes from a swing district, Lawler was non-plussed. 

“I’ve been very clear where I stand on this … I’ve been willing to work on a bipartisan way to get things done on behalf of the American people and to advance the ball forward. We have a lot of challenges in this country. And it’s incumbent on everybody to act like an adult,” he said.

Opponents of Jim Jordan’s speakership have been deploying a strategy aimed at pressuring the Ohio Republican to drop out of the race: purposely staggering their “no” votes across multiple ballots.

One Republican who has voted for Jordan on the first two ballots said a group of them have been planning to peel off gradually in an attempt to show building opposition to his speakership, and “basically drew straws” over who would vote for Jordan initially but then vote against him in subsequent ballots.

Jordan lost four Republicans on the second ballot, and the member said more would follow suit if there is another vote.

GOP Rep. Carlos Gimenez, who has said he plans to keep voting for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy during the speaker ballots, said that he told Speaker-designate Jim Jordan that any pressure campaign will not work on him. 

Gimenez said his office has been receiving robocalls about his opposition to Jordan.

He added that Jordan insisted he wasn’t involved, and that he told the Ohio Republican “I don’t really take well to threats.” 

“He told me that he wasn’t behind it, and he’s asked people to stop, but if you’ve asked people to stop it. Why aren’t they listening to you?” said Gimenez.

“I told him, I don’t really take well to threats.”

He argued Jordan could continue to lose support, unlike McCarthy, who never dropped below 200 votes in January. 

GOP Rep. Mike Waltz was emphatic to CNN that he doesn’t support empowering interim Speaker Patrick McHenry as he criticized the eight Republicans who joined with House Democrats to strip the gavel from former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. 

“I do not support this effort. At least the last conversation I had with Speaker Pro Tem McHenry to start the slippery slope of broadening his powers. Look we have to remember he was written in secret on a piece of paper. This is not a constitutional position, now if he wants to run for speaker that’s a different, that’s a whole different dynamic,” Waltz said. 

Waltz also went after the eight House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy. 

“My question to those who started all of this, the eight who started all of this, what was your plan? Clearly you didn’t have one. Now we’re in total chaos. And now people are talking about handing our majority over to the Democrats and that’s unacceptable,” he said. 

When asked by CNN how he thinks this makes the House GOP look to voters, Waltz said: “Well, not great, frankly. This war changes things for me, and we need to get behind a speaker and the differences is the point I’ve made the differences between every Republican in that room pale in comparison to us and the progressives and they pale in comparison to Americans and Israelis and the terrorists.”

New York Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is standing firm in his opposition to Rep. Jim Jordan, despite Jordan lobbying him to flip his vote last night.

Asked whether he would support empowering interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, D’Esposito said: “I want to see someone be a speaker.”

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear. 

 “This right now is an embarrassment,” he added. “This is not what we should be dealing with. We were sent here to work. And we should be working.”

He said it’s a decision for Jordan about whether he should drop out.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that current interim speaker Patrick McHenry should have the power to move legislation as temporary speaker without a vote in order to give Jim Jordan time to win over the holdouts. 

“I always thought when I was nominating someone to be that they’d have the power to keep the continuity of government running together. Their job is keep government running while you select a new speaker,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju. “I think from the aspect you should give Jim Jordan the same time frame I was able to get.”

When asked what Jordan should do going forward, McCarthy said: “I would take the time right now to talk and listen to members.”

GOP Rep. Mike Garcia said the House GOP conference needs to hear from Jim Jordan directly about what his plans are as they figure out what step to take next. 

Garcia said Republicans need to hold a conference meeting to “understand where Jim Jordan’s head is at right now.”

Even though Garcia said the closed-door conference meetings “are not yielding a result,” he said House Republicans need to talk to one another. He suggested Republicans should hold offsite meetings somewhere like Gettysburg where they can really work through their differences.

Garcia said he was open to empowering interim speaker Patrick McHenry, but he needs to see the exact language of the resolution first.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wouldn’t say whether his caucus would back Rep. Dave Joyce’s resolution to empower interim speaker Patrick McHenry, but explains that after this afternoon’s failed vote he is focused on a “bipartisan path” to reopening the House. 

“We had two objectives coming into this meeting. First objective, to stop Jim Jordan who’s a clear and present danger to our democracy, and the poster child for MAGA extremism. Second objective is to reopen the house, find a bipartisan path to doing so. So we can take care of the business of the American people. It appears that the first objective has been accomplished. Now we’re on to Part two,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear. 

Just after GOP Rep. Jim Jordan faced a second defeat on the floor, he told reporters he is still deciding if there will be another vote today and has not yet decided if he will call a conference meeting, but he will likely just meet with individual members. 

“We don’t know when we’re going to have the next vote but we want to continue our conversations with our colleagues,” he said.  

Jordan is dug in on pressing ahead. 

“We picked up some today, a couple dropped off, but they voted for me before. I think they come back again. So we’ll keep talking to members and keep working on it,” he said. 

He said Rep. Kevin McCarthy had more time to wrangle support ahead of his bid. 

“Speaker McCarthy, he had, he had a two-month runway from when he got the conference nomination and when we got to that first week of January, so we’re right where he was and his numbers, and we got 200 votes,” Jordan said. 

Asked about the resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry and expand his powers, Jordan said the question should be called at some point but that it was up to McHenry.

Jordan said his pitch to members is that he is the “one person that can bring the team” together, adding that he’s got “a cross section of the conference.”

“There’s, you know, 20 individuals we need to talk to. We continue to do that. Some of them who were against us yesterday, are for us today. We picked up three today but lost a couple.”

Rep. David Joyce said after speaking with acting Speaker Patrick McHenry that he wants to explain his plan to empower McHenry in conference because he thinks people have been misinformed about what he is trying to do. 

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

“Some of the people didn’t really have an understanding and I want to make sure that everybody in our conference has the ability to understand what it is I was trying to get accomplished by doing it,” Joyce told CNN. “Some people are getting misinformation.”

“I’ve been talking about this for 15 days. This is not something new, but it needs to be drafted to fix the problems that occurred,” Joyce added. 

Jim Jordan again failed to win the speakership in a second round of voting.  

Yesterday, 20 House Republicans voted for someone other than Jordan. Today that number rose to 22. 

There were four new GOP votes against Jordan today. And two GOP votes that flipped from the first round of voting to Jordan’s favor were Reps. Victoria Spartz and Doug LaMalfa. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, who wasn’t in attendance at yesterday’s vote, also voted for Jordan today. 

Jordan got 199 votes in total. Democratic nominee for speaker, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, got 212 votes. 

Here are the Republicans who did not vote for Jordan, including any new votes:  

Rep. Don Bacon voted for Rep. Kevin McCarthy Rep. Vern Buchanan for Rep. Byron Donalds (new vote against Jordan from first ballot)  Rep. Ken Buck for Rep. Tom Emmer Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for McCarthy Rep. Anthony D’Esposito for Rep. Lee Zeldin Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart for Rep. Steve Scalise Rep. Jake Ellzey for Rep. Mike Garcia Rep. Drew Ferguson for Scalise (new vote against Jordan) Rep. Andrew Garbarino for Zeldin Rep. Carlos Gimenez for McCarthy Rep. Tony Gonzales for Scalise Rep. Kay Granger for Scalise  Rep. John James for Candice Miller of Michigan  Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania for Boehner  Rep. Jen Kiggans for McCarthy Rep. Mike Lawler for McCarthy Rep. Nick LaLota for Zeldin Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for Kay Granger (new vote against Jordan) Rep. John Rutherford for Scalise Rep. Mike Simpson for Scalise Rep. Pete Stauber for Bruce Westerman (new vote against Jordan)  Rep. Steve Womack for Scalise

Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz says he would vote in favor of a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry and predicted many of his colleagues would do the same, though he emphasized they still need to see the text and details. 

But Moskowitz also said he wouldn’t need something in return for his vote, and thinks it’s important to re-open the House. 

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, a key ally for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, says that this isn’t January, and Republicans cannot go 15 rounds for one person, like they did when electing now ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this year.

Armstrong didn’t rule out backing a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry but said he needs to see and talk to Jordan first. 

His first order of business was to talk to Jordan and see what he wanted to do before weighing in further. 

Rep. Victoria Spartz — who voted against Jim Jordan as speaker yesterday, but voted for him today — told reporters that House Rules Chair Tom Cole’s nominating speech for Jordan is what made her decide to support him on this ballot, after previously vowing to either vote for someone else or vote present. 

“I think we need to start governing, so I was very impressed with his speech. I still think we need to go to conference. But I did it as a thanks of what to Tom said, and I’m glad to see that Jim is supportive of doing some governing,” she said. 

She added that she does not support the resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, and thinks Republicans should keep meeting in private until they can elect a speaker. 

“No, I don’t want to support that more power, but I think we need to have more meeting, and try to figure out if we can come to consensus,” Spartz told reporters. “I don’t think we should be voting on the floor.” 

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

GOP Rep. Jim Jordan is showing no signs of dropping out of the speaker’s race, even though he lost more votes on today’s second ballot.

“We’re going to keep going,” said Russell Dye, Jordan’s spokesperson.

Today, 22 Republicans voted against Jordan, compared to the 20 who did not support him yesterday.

When asked if it is still possible for the House GOP conference to coalesce around Jim Jordan’s bid for House speaker, House Rules Chair Tom Cole told CNN “we’ll wait and see.”

“First of all, it’s his decision as to whether this proceeds. I mean, you know, different people have different points of view,” Cole said.

This is not a resounding endorsement from Cole on Jordan, who just an hour ago was praising him in an endorsement speech on the floor. 

“I am very proud, very proud to place a nomination, the name of our good friend, my good friend, our Republican candidate for speaker, the honorable Jim Jordan of Ohio,” Cole said in his speech, adding that Jordan has the “character” and “spine” needed to be speaker.

GOP Rep. Mike Garcia, who voted for Jordan the last two rounds, says he’s unsure if he’ll continue to support the speaker designate. 

“I don’t know. I mean, I think this trend is obviously not favorable,” he told CNN.

Garcia also said his mind was not made up on whether he would support a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry.

“I’m undecided on that I want to see the language,” he said. “And I want to know what backroom deals are being made with the Democrats before I sign up to anything.”

The House just went into recess immediately after the vote was gaveled. Rep. Jim Jordan failed to win the House speakership for a second time.

GOP Rep. Nick LaLota, who has voted against Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan twice, told CNN it was a “tactical error” for Jordan to go to the floor today and lose more votes.

“I think that him losing ground is probably evidence that it was a tactical error to bring it to the floor without ironing these issues out,” he said.

LaLota also said the pressure campaign from Jordan’s allies has not worked and has only made members opposing Jordan dig in more.

In a second round of voting, Jim Jordan again failed to receive enough votes to become speaker, keeping House leadership in limbo.

He won 199 votes, with 22 Republicans voting against him. The Democrats’ nominee, Hakeem Jeffries, earned 212 votes.

GOP Rep. David Valadao, who represents a district President Joe Biden won, has voted for Jim Jordan on both ballots but says it is time to empower acting Speaker Patrick McHenry. 

Some background: Rep. Dave Joyce, an Ohio Republican, is leading the charge on a possible privileged resolution to empower McHenry and expand his powers if Jordan fails to secure the speakership today.

While the votes are being tallied, Reps. Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy are huddling on what to do next.

They could try to recess and go to a closed-door conference meeting or a Republican can bring forward a motion to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry. The plan remains fluid. Sitting in the speaker’s chair, McHenry has the power on who to recognize. 

GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher says he expects Republicans to go back into another conference meeting to “air grievances” after this expected failed speaker’s vote. But he doesn’t know where they go from here, warning of the dangers of their dysfunction. 

He also said GOP “messiness is a feature, not a bug.”

Gallagher said he has several “concerns” about empowering interim speaker Patrick McHenry, an idea gaining steam. Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

Gallagher said he would support a Kevin McCarthy comeback if McCarthy wanted to, joking his speaker sign is still there. 

But Gallagher said he would not be interested in the speakership himself, though his name has been floated by others.  

Rep. Jim Jordan appears to be faring worse today than yesterday during the second round of voting for the speakership.

Yesterday, Jordan lost 20 votes from his own party during the first round of voting for speaker. So far today, he’s lost 21 votes.

Like yesterday, members of Jordan’s party are voting for others including Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise, as well as former Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is not a member of Congress at this time.

Remember: Members can change their votes up until the vote concludes.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, chairman of the Florida congressional delegation, flipped his vote from Rep. Jim Jordan to Rep. Byron Donalds during the latest round of voting on the House floor today.

“We’re going to have to solve this race quickly,” Buchanan said. “I’ve served with Byron, he’s a conservative champion, and I hope my colleagues will consider his name as we look for a way forward. It’s about time Florida had a seat at the table.”

In the second round of voting, Rep. Jim Jordan appears to fall short on votes keeping House leadership in limbo.

Jordan could only afford to lose four votes from Republicans in order to obtain the 217 votes necessary to win the speaker’s gavel. He’s already lost four votes.

Remember: Members can change their votes up until the vote concludes.

Reps. Ken Buck and Vern Buchanan voted against Jim Jordan in the second round of voting to elect a speaker.

Buchanan voted for Rep. Byron Donalds, while Buck voted for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.

The House is now starting its second round of voting to elect a speaker.

The GOP has nominated Rep. Jim Jordan and the Democrats have nominated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker.

Jordan was unable to secure the gavel on the first vote. The conservative Republican could only afford to lose three votes from members of his party during the vote if all Democrats were present. He earned 200 votes, while Jeffries won 212. Another 20 fellow Republicans voted against Jordan.

Voting will be done verbally with members called by name alphabetically and then stating their choice for speaker. Members can also choose to vote present. If a member doesn’t vote, they will get a chance to vote at the end of the roll call. 

Remember: Members can change their vote until the gavel comes down.

Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar nominated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker.

“While the Republican candidate for speaker is making late-night bathroom deals to secure the gavel, leader Jeffries has once again extended the hand of bipartisanship for a path forward.”

Aguilar noted that Jeffries defeated GOP Rep. Jim Jordan in the count during yesterday’s vote - 212-200.

“No amount of election denying is going to take away from those vote totals,” Aguilar said, taking a swipe at Jordan’s continued refusal to declare that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. 

He went on to criticize Jordan, saying the speaker needs to be “a legislator. The gentleman from Ohio falls short in that regard.” 

“[Jordan] supports an extreme agenda and is hell bent on banning abortion nationwide. Gutting medicare, gutting social security, and giving cover to January 6th attackers. Those aren’t the values that we share.”

Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma nominated Rep. Jim Jordan as House speaker for a second time, one day after Jordan failed to secure enough votes Tuesday in the first round of voting.

“I am very proud, very proud to place a nomination, the name of our good friend, my good friend, our Republican candidate for speaker, the honorable Jim Jordan of Ohio,” Cole said. 

Cole said that they’ve found out over the past couple weeks “that it takes a spine of steel” to do the job of the speaker.

“My friend has that kind of determination, has that kind of character, has that kind of spine. And I think the next speaker is going to need that quality, and I know my friend has it in great abundance,” Cole said. 

Jordan has been scrambling to win over holdouts and can only afford to lose four GOP votes today. 

Democrats are nominating House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, who was able to get 212 votes on Tuesday with all Democrats voting for him.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy argued interim Speaker Patrick McHenry already has the powers that some in the anti-Jim Jordan crowd want him to have.

“I think you shouldn’t have to do a resolution, that McHenry can carry this on as we elect Jim Jordan our speaker,” he said.

“I always felt that – when I became speaker, they come to you and you have these different roles you have to do, and they make you put down a list of names if something was to happen to you who would fill in the role of speaker, and they’d fill it in until you elect a speaker. I always assumed as they’re telling me that, the person I put in as speaker pro tempore would have the powers to carry on the continuity of government,” McCarthy told CNN’s Manu Raju.

He also attacked Rep. Matt Gaetz for sending out a fundraising email last night that accused Jordan’s opposition of working with Democrats, after Gaetz voted with Democrats to oust McCarthy.

“We’re going in, we want to elect Jim Jordan, and if Jim’s numbers drop, it’s a lot of that is due to Gaetz’s email that he put out last night,” said McCarthy. “Did you guys see that, the fundraising email he put out, accusing Republicans (of) working with certain Democrats when he had worked with every Democrat and then the crazy eights worked with him. That is infuriating.”

He added, “I mean, when you think of the challenge of why we’re here, every single Democrat with the crazy eights who are led by Gaetz put us in this place and then he was fundraising last night off of this? Going after Republicans that would work with anything with Democrats when he did all this to us? I know that infuriates a lot of members about him.” 

“But look, Jim is capable of leading. Jim is capable of being speaker. That’s where the conference wants to go. That’s where my support is,” said McCarthy.

He also told reporters that Jordan should be given time to get more votes. “As a person who took 15 rounds to get here, I know the rules are different and we had to have so many votes a day, but I think you allow Jim to work through and work through the members that have disagreement.

The House has finished its roll call vote with 432 members present.

One Democrat – Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey — is not voting. 

The House is now going through nominating speeches for candidates for speaker. Then the House will proceed to the speaker vote. 

Members of the House are now nominating representatives from their party for the speakership.

Senior House GOP member Tom Cole will give the nominating speech for Rep. Jim Jordan shortly. 

Democrats will nominate Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

Rep. Jim Jordan just now walked up to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry on the House floor and the two were talking at the dais.

This is interesting given the multiple plans swirling right now — including a possible resolution to grant McHenry more power if Jordan can’t win the speakership

Earlier, when Jim Jordan walked onto the House floor, he didn’t go right to his seat. Rather, he hung out in the area where a lot of members voting against him were sitting.

Jordan then got into an extended conversation with New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who voted against him. Then Jordan huddled with key aides and allies including Rep. Thomas Massie.

Reps. John Rutherford, Carlos Gimenez, Mike Lawler, Anthony D’Esposito and Nick LaLota are all sitting together on the House floor as members wait for the speaker vote to be called. 

The five are among the 20 Republicans who voted against Jim Jordan’s bid to become the next House speaker yesterday.

It’s common for members to sit in groups. For example, the House Freedom Caucus members usually sit toward the middle of the chamber. On a day like today, members are definitely gravitating toward their likeminded colleagues. 

The House is expected to soon begin its second round of voting to elect a speaker after Jordan failed to secure enough votes Tuesday in the first round.

GOP Rep. Dusty Johnson said he doesn’t think now is the right time to try and empower Patrick McHenry.

“I don’t know that it’s ripe,” Johnson said of the efforts to expand McHenry’s powers.

Johnson said, “I think Jim Jordan deserves more time to unify the conference.”

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially move legislation through the chamber, although the exact specifics aren’t clear.

Rep. Andy Biggs said he doesn’t support the idea of empowering interim Speaker Patrick McHenry while Rep. Matt Rosendale said it would be “a dangerous consolidation of power.” Asked how long Jordan should stay in the race, Rosendale said “until he is elected speaker.” 

Rep. Tim Burchett also wants to see Jordan stick it out and doesn’t want to empower McHenry because it will take the “urgency” away from electing a permanent speaker. 

But another Jordan backer, Rep. Nicole Maliotakis, was less committal. She said she would vote for him on the second ballot but if he doesn’t show progress then it’s time to go back to the “drawing board.”

She also said empowering McHenry should be a “last resort” but was open to the idea, although she said her preference is a permanent speaker.

Interim Speaker Patrick McHenry told CNN’s Manu Raju, “I’m going to the floor to support Jim Jordan.” 

The anti-Jordan crowd is circulating a resolution that aims to expand McHenry’s powers if Jordan fails to secure the speakership today.

The House is starting a call of the House, a roll call of present members.

NOTE: This is not the speaker vote — that vote will come after.

However, this vote remains significant because it gives us our first glimpse to determine how many members are present and who is absent. Both are key factors in determining the majority vote threshold for the speaker election.

Soon, representatives are expected begin their second vote this week for the speakership.

Yesterday, the GOP’s nominee for speaker, conservative Rep. Jim Jordan, failed to obtain the necessary number of votes to secure the gavel.

House GOP Whip Tom Emmer told CNN’s Manu Raju that Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan will become speaker, despite growing opposition.

Emmer also called the resolution that would empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry a “non-starter.” 

GOP speaker designate Jim Jordan said he wants to put two measures to a vote this morning: electing him as speaker and whether more power should be given to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry. 

“I think we gotta decide today, are we going to have a Republican speaker or … is the body going to adopt this resolution with the speaker pro tem,” he said. “I think both questions should be called. Let’s get an answer.”

He added on the resolution to empower McHenry: “I told leadership to call the question.”

GOP Rep. Bob Good told CNN “of course not” when asked if he supports empowering Patrick McHenry, the interim speaker, if Jim Jordan can’t get the votes.

This underscores how Jordan’s allies are digging in even though Jordan is expected to lose votes on the next ballot. 

Rep. Jim Jordan says Republicans must make a choice today: elect him and get a Republican speaker or stand in the way and empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry with temporary power alongside Democrats, which he says would be a “coalition government.”

“I just met with our leadership and said put both questions to the body today,” Jordan said.

As CNN previously reported, the expectation was that a resolution to empower McHenry would be introduced today after Jordan failed to win on a second or third ballot or dropped out.

Jordan said he will continue with his bid on a second round. Then, he wants the resolution to be introduced to see if that’s the choice Republicans want to make. He’s casting this as a choice of him and Republican priorities or caving and working with Democrats. 

“I mean, I think the American people would prefer that the majority party elected a Republican speaker and we get about the people’s business, but call both questions,” Jordan said. 

“Let’s see where people vote,” he said. “We gotta get an answer to that fundamental question.” 

Logistically, Jordan did not know if there would be an actual vote today on the resolution to empower McHenry. It’s up to McHenry to decide when it would come up. 

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry, who is backing Jim Jordan for speaker, is setting expectations and warning there will likely be more defections today on the second ballot than the first. 

But he urged Jordan supporters to “stay strong.”

“Just so there’s no surprises: Jordan will likely have FEWER votes today than yesterday — as I expected. This is the fight — which Jim Jordan represents — to end the status quo, and it ain’t easy…Stay strong and keep praying,” he wrote on X. 

Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry is opening the door to serving as speaker if Jim Jordan’s candidacy continues to falter. 

“I’m interested in electing a speaker,” he said as he arrived, but when pressed if that speaker could be him he said “that’s not something I’m seeking. I’m not asking for it right now.”

McHenry has previously said he is opposed to expanding his powers but when asked if he’d take the role if the House put him forward as speaker, he said “if, there’s always if.”

GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a vocal holdout against Jim Jordan, said Jordan will lose even more votes today on the second ballot expected at 11 a.m. ET. 

“I think there’ll be a pickup of folks who will be going for other people,” he predicted. 

Diaz-Balart would not commit to backing a proposal that grants McHenry more powers but is open to it once he sees more details. 

“I think what is pretty clear is that this candidate does not and will not be able to get the Republican votes to become a speaker. So then now I think all of us have to get together and figure out what’s the next step?” he said. 

Diaz-Balart said there needs to be a way for a Republican-led House to move legislation in the middle of the chaos. 

“I think there is among Republicans I think there’s a consensus that we need to in the meantime, have a process where we can move legislation forward to get the conservative agenda back on track that has been derailed by the motion to make us weaker,” he added. 

Diaz-Balart blamed intimidation tactics employed by Jordan’s team for why some are digging in against him. 

Diaz-Balart is dug in against Jordan and says his position will not change. 

House Republicans remain frustrated over the ongoing dysfunction in their conference as they struggle to coalesce around a path forward. 

Rep. Troy Nehls told CNN that he’s fielding calls from his constituents about the ongoing chaos, adding that the GOP needs to “get our act together.” 

“So there are a lot, I don’t want to say hurt feelings, but there are a lot of people that are just very frustrated right now about this whole process. But we’ve got to get our act together,” Nehls told CNN’s Manu Raju. “I’m getting calls from my constituents and saying, What the hell’s going on with you Republicans? Why can’t you – Why can’t you just seem to agree on something?” 

He added: “It just seems like we are – I don’t want to say lost, but we’re dysfunctional right now.”

Nehls also indicated that if there is no path forward for Jordan he could be open to a move that would empower interim speaker Patrick McHenry. 

“I’m with Jim Jordan right now. I’m with Jim Jordan, but after a while, I think people are gonna look at this thing, if there is no path for him, there’s got to be something else,” he said. 

And Rep. Brandon Williams, a GOP freshman from New York who voted for Jordan, said that the ongoing chaos is a “self-inflicted wound” by the House Republican conference. 

“I think it’s time to get a speaker. So who can get 217? That’s the real question. And my message has been when Matt Gaetz led the motion to vacate, he didn’t have a plan to govern afterward,” Williams said. “For people that are opposing Jim Jordan right now, do they have a plan that follows this? So if it’s not Jim, where do we go from here?” 

He added later: “But we’ve got to have a plan because this is a self-inflicted wound on the Republican House and a self-defeating strategy.”

Reps. Mike Rogers and Jake Ellzey both refused to comment to CNN when asked this morning if they would continue to support Jordan. 

“No comment, but it’s good to see y’all. Have a good morning,” Ellzey said. 

Rogers also said: “No comment.”

A vote could happen as soon as today to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry once it is formally introduced and filed with the House. The vote will likely happen after an hour of debate, per House sources.

The GOP is badly divided over this, so Democratic votes would be needed. 

The House is slated to vote again today for a speaker at 11 a.m. ET after Rep. Jim Jordan failed to secure enough votes Tuesday in the first round of voting.

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s team is whipping supporters to vote against the possible resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, sources tell CNN, and they want to keep fighting the speakership battle out on the floor.

Rep. Dave Joyce, an Ohio Republican, is leading the charge on a possible measure to empower McHenry should Jordan fail to secure the gavel in a second or third round of balloting.

A vote could happen as soon as today.

Rep. Jim Jordan, who lost in his first attempt on Tuesday to become the next speaker of the House, has been a key figure in House GOP-led investigations and made a name for himself as a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump.

Jordan, who has served in Congress since 2007 and was endorsed by Trump in his bid for the speakership, serves as chairman of the powerful House Judiciary Committee. He has a longstanding reputation as a conservative agitator and helped found the hardline House Freedom Caucus.

In addition to chairing the Judiciary Committee, Jordan is also the chair of the select subcommittee on the “weaponization” of the federal government. When McCarthy announced a House GOP impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, he said House Oversight Chairman James Comer would lead the effort in coordination with Jordan as Judiciary chair and Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith.

While Republicans say their investigative work is critical to informing the American public and ensuring accountability, Democrats frequently criticize Jordan as a hyper-partisan Trump defender and have accused him of using his perch to shield the former president in the run up to the 2024 presidential election.

As Jordan oversees key House GOP investigations, Democrats also point to the fact that he stonewalled in response to a subpoena for his testimony from the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Jordan as well as Scalise both supported objections to electoral college results when Congress met to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win on January 6.

Jordan has downplayed concerns that he may be too conservative for some of the more moderate members of the GOP.

“I think we are a conservative-center-right party. I think I’m the guy who can help unite that. My politics are entirely consistent with where conservatives and Republicans are across the country,” Jordan told CNN’s Manu Raju.

CNN reported in 2020 that six former Ohio State University wrestlers said they were present when Jordan heard or responded to sexual misconduct complaints about team doctor Richard Strauss.

Jordan has emphatically denied that he knew anything about Strauss’ abuse during his own years working at OSU, between 1987 and 1995. “Congressman Jordan never saw any abuse, never heard about any abuse, and never had any abuse reported to him during his time as a coach at Ohio State,” his congressional office said in 2018

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s loss on his first ballot for House speaker Tuesday and his effort to win the gavel despite facing 20 holdouts from within his party, has begun to expose cracks forming within the leadership of the House GOP.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik have been working behind the scenes to help Jordan flip votes this afternoon, multiple sources familiar tells CNN. But Majority Leader Steve Scalise has decided not to get actively involved – illustrating how the current top Republican leaders are taking different approaches to the speakership drama, with emotions still raw inside the conference. 

After Scalise dropped out of the race and Jordan went on to become the nominee last week, Scalise immediately committed to voting for Jordan and encouraged his supporters to do the same. But, Scalise rebuffed a request from Jordan to give a nominating speech on the floor on Tuesday. And after Jordan failed to secure the speakership on the first ballot, Scalise was noncommittal about helping Jordan further, a source added. 

Jordan’s allies were hoping that Scalise supporters would help whip fellow Scalise allies who voted against Jordan. But Scalise’s allies feel like they did far more to rally around Jordan than Jordan did when Scalise initially won the nomination last week. 

It’s not the first time that the speakership scramble has exposed fault lines in the upper ranks of House GOP leadership. 

After Jordan secured his party’s speaker nomination, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged the conference to rally around Jordan, according to multiple lawmakers in the room. 

It was a notably different posture than the one McCarthy took toward Scalise, his former top deputy who has long been seen as his potential rival. McCarthy did not give a speech after Scalise secured his party nomination on Wednesday, sources said.

And now, McCarthy has been counseling Jordan on his speaker’s race strategy, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation, a far more active role than he appeared to be playing when Scalise was the speaker nominee. 

McCarthy and Jordan were seen huddling on the floor on Tuesday, and after the first ballot, Jordan decamped to the former speaker’s suite. One source noted that McCarthy — who went through 15 rounds of voting before securing the gavel — “has been there before.”

Republicans are discussing bringing forward a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry as soon as this afternoon, two sources tell CNN. 

GOP Rep. Dave Joyce is leading the charge on the measure to empower McHenry and could introduce it as a privileged resolution as soon as today, but he said he wants to “see how the vote goes.” Joyce, an Ohio Republican, voted for Jordan on the first ballot.

It would come after a potential failed speaker vote for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan – a second ballot or third ballot – and assuming he withdraws his bid. 

Here is what could potentially happen on the floor today according to a House staffer: 

First, the House gavels in, and they have a second round speaker vote but no speaker is elected.

After that, anyone can bring a privileged motion up for a pro-temp resolution that would expand McHenry’s powers.

Next, there would need to be a motion to table (or an equivalent function) to put aside the speaker vote. If that motion to table passes then there would likely be a motion to table the pro-temp resolution — and if that motion to table the resolution fails then there would be debate.

If all that happens today, we could very well get a vote on the resolution to expand McHenry’s powers.

Important to note: The plan above is fluid and could change depending on if the motions are brought up or not and how members vote. This is not set in stone, and there are other procedural moves Jordan’s team could try to make so take this entire plan with a grain of salt. 

If a resolution is introduced on the floor, it would be considered “privileged” meaning it would need to be acted on within two legislative days. 

The resolution to empower McHenry would need Democratic support since many Republicans oppose the idea. 

The mood among Rep. Jim Jordan’s Hill allies right now is “dour,” one of them tells CNN, as they head into a second ballot vote today acknowledging they were unable to flip opposition and anticipating they will lose even more Republicans than in the first round of voting. 

Several of Jordan’s supporters believe a strategic error that cost Jordan votes was the outside pressure campaign waged against some of the more moderate members. Though they stressed Jordan himself was not involved in any intimidation tactics, they acknowledge that the arm-twisting effort from pro-Jordan conservative leaders and media figures — and implicit primary threats — likely backfired with centrists. 

They also think the revelation that Jordan asked Rep. Steve Scalise for help whipping votes but Scalise was non-committal hurt Jordan with key Scalise allies, whom he was trying to win over, when that revelation became public. The news was first reported by CNN’s Annie Grayer. 

“The leak fed into the narrative that Jordan is a sour loser and reopened criticism that he didn’t do enough to support Scalise after losing the initial conference vote last week,” one GOP source that has been aligned with Jordan said. “For any votes flipped, more were probably lost because of the leak.”

The first vote concerning Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become the next speaker of the House not only fell short on Tuesday, it was, in the words of one ally of the Ohio Republican, “much worse than we expected.”

Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan’s candidacy, far more than the handful he could afford to lose given the party’s narrow majority in Congress.

These are the House Republicans who voted against Jordan:

1. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska voted for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy

2. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon voted for McCarthy

3. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of New York voted for former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York

4. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida voted for Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana

5. Rep. Jake Ellzey of Texas voted for Rep. Mike Garcia of California

6. Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York voted for Zeldin

7. Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida voted for McCarthy

8. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas voted for Scalise

9. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas voted for Scalise

10. Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania voted for Scalise

11. Rep. Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia voted for McCarthy

12. Rep. Nick LaLota of New York voted for Zeldin

13. Rep. Mike Lawler of New York voted for McCarthy

14. Rep. John Rutherford of Florida voted for Scalise

15. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho voted for Scalise

16. Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas voted for Scalise

17. Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado voted for Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota

18. Rep. John James of Michigan voted for Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma

19. Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California voted for McCarthy

20. Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted for Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky

GOP Rep. Don Bacon’s wife has received anonymous text messages warning her husband to back GOP Rep. Jim Jordan as he continues to oppose to the conservative candidate.

Bacon has been a vocal holdout against Jordan and was one of the 20 GOP members that did not back Jordan yesterday on the floor, preventing him from assuming the role. 

“Your husband will not hold any political office ever again. What a disappointment and failure he is,” read one of the messages sent to Bacon’s wife and obtained by CNN through Bacon.  

Bacon’s wife, Angie, responded to that text saying “he has more courage than you. You won’t put your name to your statements.” 

Angie Bacon has also received voicemails from people pleading with her to “talk sense into his head.”  

“We need to talk sense into your husband. He is destroying the republican party. Please, the world needs a united Republican party. Every time they take five steps forward they end up taking twenty steps backward. Please talk sense into his head. Please,” the voicemail recorded.

GOP Rep. Jim Jordan failed to win the speakership Tuesday on his first ballot after 20 Republicans voted against him. The surprising number of 20 Republican votes included votes for Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise and Lee Zeldin.

House Democrats rallied around Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who was able to get 212 votes with all Democrats voting for him.

Although Jeffries was able to accumulate more votes than Jordan, that doesn’t mean Jeffries wins the gavel. He would need to convince at least five Republicans to cross the aisle and cast their vote for the Democratic representative.

Jordan has met with a number of allies to try and sway key holdouts to vote for him and shrink his opposition. Though GOP sources say his opposition could grow if the votes continue over multiple rounds of ballots. 

The House is expected to vote again at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday.

GOP Rep. Don Bacon believes that more Republicans will join the holdouts and vote against Jim Jordan in this morning’s vote series, adding that he supports the resolution to give more power to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry. 

Bacon, who voted for McCarthy yesterday, predicted that today’s vote will end up with “about 23 nos.”

“To my knowledge we’re probably gonna pick up three or four more no votes second round. But we’ll see, I know Jim is working this hard,” Bacon told CNN.

“I’ll be a no vote second round. And we need a speaker who can unite the whole conference,” he added.

Bacon also told CNN that he spoke with Jordan and told him “I said my mind’s made.”

When asked by CNN if he supports giving more power to McHenry, Bacon said: “I think he’ll make a great speaker actually.”

Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the 20 Republicans who voted against Rep. Jim Jordan’s speakership Tuesday, told CNN that he is still not satisfied with Jordan’s answers to his demands and predicted that he will lose more votes in the second round of voting on Wednesday.

LaLota, whose top priority is keeping the government open, said he has spoken to Jordan about how to prevent a government shutdown and that he has “not yet been satisfied by his answer.”

“I think it’s more likely there are less Jordan votes on round two than round one, especially if he doesn’t address things like how to fund the government. That’s a big issue for a number of us who are a ‘no’ right now,” LaLota said. “If there is no specific resolution on that, and we are not looking for a promise, we are looking for bona fide actions, statements which would make it very clear be we are not going to play games.”

LaLota also stated that Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry should exercise extended powers while the House continues speaker elections.

“When there is a vacancy in the office of speaker, I think the speaker pro tempore not only can act, they should act,” he said, comparing it to how the vice president would occupy the presidency in the event of a vacancy.

“This is not a position merely to be a caretaker of the election of the next speaker,” LaLota added. “The speaker pro tempore absolutely has every right, duty and responsibility and authority to act in the absence of a bona fide speaker.”

The moderate New York Republican acknowledged, however, that there are “tricky” legal nuances to taking up a vote on extending McHenry’s powers.

LaLota, who called Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster a “political coup,” also called for the motion to vacate rule to be reformed.

“It took McCarthy years to build relationships and to gain confidences and trust to get elected by his peers, and to think that somebody is going to be able to do it just in a couple of days or even a couple of weeks is unreasonable,” he said. “Those folks who voted to vacate the chair knew this chaos would ensue. They’re responsible for it.”

It’s proving to be a historic year in the House.

It took former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy multiple days of negotiations and 15 rounds of voting earlier this year to finally get elected — only to be ousted nine months later. No House speaker had ever before been ousted through the passage of a resolution to remove them.

And now, Rep. Jim Jordan failed on his first ballot to become House speaker.

McCarthy’s January 15-vote-long bid was the longest speakership bid in more than 160 years, when it took 44 voting rounds in 1859 to elect a speaker.

In fact, a House speaker election had not gone to multiple ballots in 100 years. In 1923, it took nine ballots for Rep. Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts to be elected speaker.

And in 1849, the House had been in session so long without being able to elect a speaker – 19 days – that members voted to elect their speaker with a plurality rather than a majority. Members ultimately confirmed the plurality election with a majority vote.

Multiple-ballot House speaker elections were more common before the Civil War.

Jordan’s failed first ballot sets the House up for a second multiple-round speaker bid this year.

Republicans are discussing bringing forward a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry as soon as this afternoon, two sources tell CNN. 

GOP Rep. Dave Joyce is leading the charge on the measure to empower McHenry and could introduce it as a privileged resolution as soon as today, but he said he wants to “see how the vote goes.” Joyce, an Ohio Republican, voted for Jordan on the first ballot.

It would come after a potential failed speaker vote for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan – a second ballot or third ballot – and assuming he withdraws his bid. 

If a resolution is introduced on the floor, it would be considered “privileged” meaning it would need to be acted on within two legislative days. 

The resolution to empower McHenry would need Democratic support since many Republicans oppose the idea. 

The move could give Democrats an opportunity to seek some concessions from Republicans in exchange for their votes.

Democrats have been floating three things they’d want in exchange including:

The last ask would be a hard sell for the Republican majority. 

The members behind this effort to empower McHenry have reached a breaking point.

It’s been two weeks without a speaker, 10 days since an attack on Israel and just one month until another funding deadline looms. No one seems to be able to garner the support to become speaker with just GOP votes and the conference is bitterly divided. In other words, many members view this path as the only viable way forward even if it is just a temporary solution. 

A Republican House member opposed to Rep. Jim Jordan told CNN that opposition to his speaker candidacy will grow, especially if it goes to a third round of balloting — with potentially 25 Republicans voting against him. They hope this will convince him to withdraw.

Jordan fell short of securing the speakership during the first round of voting yesterday with 20 Republicans voting against him. Republicans are discussing bringing forward a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry if Jordan falls short on a second or third ballot today.

Conservative Republican Rep. Jim Jordan called off a second speaker’s vote Tuesday evening while he scrambled behind the scenes to try to win over 20 Republicans who voted against him earlier in the day.

Jordan has scheduled another vote for speaker for 11 a.m. ET Wednesday, where the Ohio Republican and his allies hope to see his support increase even in the face of entrenched opposition.

The level of GOP opposition to Jordan during Tuesday’s speaker’s vote – held exactly two weeks after the House ousted Kevin McCarthy – was a disappointment for Jordan’s allies who had expressed hopes that the number of holdouts would only be in the single digits.

The 20 Republicans who voted against Jordan include House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger of Texas, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado and a quartet of New York Republicans in purple districts. The anti-Jordan contingent cast six votes for McCarthy, seven votes for Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three for former New York GOP Rep. Lee Zeldin, among other alternatives.

Jordan’s opponents come from several factions. There are centrist Republicans concerned that the face of the House GOP would be a conservative hardliner, as well as lawmakers still furious at the small group of Republicans who forced out McCarthy and then opposed the speaker nomination of Scalise, who initially defeated Jordan inside the GOP conference, 113 to 99. Seven members of the House Appropriations Committee – which has fought Jordan’s opposition to spending bills for years – voted against Jordan.

Jordan can only afford to lose four GOP votes. The House’s slim margin is what led to McCarthy’s removal at the hands of a band of eight GOP rebels – and now a similarly sized group of House Republicans could block Jordan’s ascension, too.

After the first vote, the House recessed and Jordan shuffled between the speaker’s office and the majority whip’s office holding meetings, before Jordan said the next vote would be on Wednesday.

“We’re making progress. I feel good about it. We’re going to keep going,” Jordan said Tuesday afternoon. “I had great conversations, great discussions with our colleagues.”

Read more about the developments here.