Jim Jordan’s speakership bid ends after third lost vote

House Republicans are once again scrambling with no clear path to elect a new speaker after voting to push Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan out of the race — the latest sign of the chaos and divisions that have engulfed the majority party and left the chamber in a state of paralysis.

If you are just tuning in, here’s what you need to know about today’s developments:

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer plans to run an “entirely positive” campaign for speaker and “won’t attack his opponents,” a source close to him says – betting it will be a welcome change in style, following weeks of nasty infighting in a bitterly divided GOP where some members have seen death threats over their speaker votes.

“Emmer plans to run an entirely positive speaker race and will not attack his opponents. He believes members will not respond well to negative campaigning after the past couple weeks,” said the source familiar with Emmer’s thinking.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is backing Emmer for speaker. McCarthy did not publicly endorse a candidate when Rep. Jim Jordan and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise vied for the nomination.

House Republicans have shared the following schedule regarding next steps in the speaker race and election:

The timing of a floor vote is still unclear.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy is backing Rep. Tom Emmer for House speaker, sources tell CNN, delivering an early boost to his candidacy in what is shaping up to be a crowded race.

“He is the right person for the job. He can unite the conference. He understands the dynamics of the conference. He also understands what it takes to win and keep a majority,” the former House speaker said of Emmer in a statement.

McCarthy did not publicly endorse a candidate when it was Rep. Jim Jordan and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise vying for the nomination.

The Republican-controlled 118th Congress has set many firsts.

On Jan. 3, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy became the first candidate in the majority party to lose a bid for the House speakership in 100 years. He won the gavel in the 15th round of voting, making his election the longest since before the Civil War.

Then, on Oct. 3, McCarthy became the first House speaker in history to be removed by a motion to vacate.

Now, as the House seeks a new speaker, the 118th is the first ever Congress to need two speaker elections with multiple ballots. Rep. Jim Jordan, who on Friday lost his third round of voting and later lost in a secret ballot, is no longer a nominee.

Here is the history of multiple-ballot House speaker elections:

The White House offered reaction to the House Republicans’ continued failure to elect a speaker after another loss for Rep. Jim Jordan Friday, calling out the “chaotic infighting” on the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue. 

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates ticked off Biden’s latest $105 billion national security supplemental funding request priorities as he contrasted those efforts with the ongoing dysfunction in the legislative branch. 

“While Joe Biden fights to advance bipartisan legislation that will protect our national security interests - including in Israel and Ukraine - provide humanitarian assistance for innocent civilians in Gaza, deliver critical border funding, compete with China, and grow our economy, House Republicans are somehow still fighting with each other,” Bates said. 

He continued, “House Republicans need to end their chaotic infighting and their competitions to out-extreme one another, and instead join President Biden in working on urgent priorities for American families shared by both parties in Congress.”

The Biden campaign is also piling on, saying that House Republicans have “humiliated themselves and failed the American people.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will not run again for speaker, according to a source.

Scalise had dropped out of the speaker’s race earlier this month after House Republicans failed to coalesce behind him.

Texas GOP Rep. Pete Sessions is also making calls to members telling them he is running for speaker, a lawmaker who received a call from Sessions tells CNN. 

Sessions is among the growing list of members who are throwing their hat in the ring for speaker now that the field is wide open.

Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, the vice conference chair and Judiciary member, is making calls for speaker, according to a source.

Rep. Byron Donalds is running for speaker after Jim Jordan’s bid ended Friday with a third failed ballot vote, his spokesperson said.

With the GOP speakership now once again up for grabs, here’s a list of potential candidates and where they stand on getting in the race. They have until noon ET Sunday to file.

Confirmed candidates:

Considering running:

Rep. Tom Emmer, the House GOP majority whip, is making calls to run for speaker according to two sources, including one close to Emmer.

GOP Rep. Jack Bergman will run for speaker after Jim Jordan’s bid ended Friday with a third failed ballot vote, his spokesperson said.

GOP Reps. Kevin Hern and Austin Scott are both seeking the speakership as well.

Rep. Chip Roy, a staunch supporter of Rep. Jim Jordan, called it a “mistake” for the Republican conference to end Jordan’s speakership bid. 

“I supported Jim Jordan wholeheartedly, I think it was a mistake for the Republican conference to just walk away from arguably the most popular Republican in the Republican party. We shouldn’t have done that, we just did, so now we got to go back and figure out what we’re doing,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju. 

Roy also deflected when pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju on how the ongoing chaos reflects on the Republican party. 

“I think having the American people be able to see how we are wrestling with the tough decisions and what we’re trying to do, and doing it with intensity and doing it because we care about this country? I mean, God bless all of these people that put their names forward, all of the stuff that we’re wrestling with, because it’s a hell of a lot better than the way the rest of the world has always done it. God bless,” he told CNN.

GOP Rep. Kevin Hern told CNN he plans to run for House speaker after Jim Jordan’s bid ended Friday with a third failed ballot vote.

“We just got to work hard. It’s different. Clearly I don’t have the longevity in Congress that Jim or Steve had so there’s different relationships there. I’ve spent 25 years in leadership roles,” Hern said when asked how he plans to get 217 votes, adding he’ll work “hard” to get people on his side. 

House Republicans left this afternoon’s conference meeting frustrated and calling for reflection after Rep. Jim Jordan’s speakership bid ended and as the chamber remains paralyzed. 

Rep. Dusty Johnson, an even-keeled and pragmatic Republican, was especially furious as he attacked those who voted to oust former speaker Kevin McCarthy and called for a Republican not driven by ambition to step forward and lead the conference. 

“Clearly there is yet another void we are going to have a couple more days of chaos as we try to get a sense of what’s next. To me, it reminds me of how incredibly irresponsible it was for 208 Democrats and 8 Republicans to put this House into absolute chaos without any kind of a plan for how we are going to move forward,” Congressman Dusty Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju. “We need to go find a leader.” 

Johnson added: “We really do need somebody to step forward, somebody who is mission driven. Somebody who is focused on doing something rather than just being something. Blind ambition has distorted this process enough.” 

When Rep. Nancy Mace tried to call out Johnson while he was speaking with CNN, he fired back by slamming the eight Republicans who ousted McCarthy, saying that it’s been “a long time” since Mace has done “anything productive to move forward this broader team.” 

“America’s got real problems. And this is a time where we need people who are interested in problem solving, not self-aggrandizement,” he continued. “It is time for big boys and big girls to stop with the nonsense and get back to work for the United States.” 

Asked if anyone can get the votes to lead the conference, Johnson said: “There are people in that room who can get the votes. They have not thought of themselves as the guy or the girl yet, but this country, this Republican conference we are going to turn our eyes to them and we need them to step up.”

Rep. Austin Scott said the whole saga makes the Republican conference “look bad” as he called it a “dangerous game being played.” 

“It was a dangerous game being played, the consequences were real for the country. If men were angels we wouldn’t need the government as you know. But men aren’t angels and we need the United States House of Representatives open,” he told CNN. “There’s a tremendous amount of resentment among the different groups in the conference. The resentment is something we’ve got to work through.”   

Rep. Byron Donalds did not rule out a speakership bid himself, saying he needs to reflect on a path forward. 

“What I’m going to do is frankly sit down, think, because we have got to get our business together and that’s going to be my entire focus,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju. 

Interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry said Republicans will gather Monday for a candidate forum with elections on Tuesday, arguing that neither Steve Scalise nor Jim Jordan had enough time to gather support for their candidacies. 

“House Republicans will return on Monday at 6:30pm for a candidate forum, followed by an election process on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.,” he said as he left the meeting that removed Jordan as their speaker nominee.

McHenry explained further:

“The reason why I made that decision is we need space and time for candidates to talk to other members. It’s fair to say that Leader Scalise wasn’t given adequate time. He had 24 hours to campaign. I don’t think that was right for him. Our nominee Jordan was given a little more time — not right for him. The conference made a decision that we’re going to move forward with a new speaker nominee today. But the space and time for a reset is, I think, an important thing for House Republicans.”

He said he hopes it can be resolved in a week.

GOP Rep. Austin Scott, who launched a last minute bid against Jim Jordan last week but quickly dropped out, is running for speaker again now that the field is wide open, his spokesperson told CNN.

Rep. Jim Jordan said “we need to come together” to find the next House speaker after again failing to win the speakership Friday.

“We need to come together and figure out who our speaker is going to be. I’m going to work as hard as I can to help that individual so that we can go help the American people,” he said. 

After the House floor vote, Jordan lost a secret ballot by the GOP conference on whether he should stay in the race or drop out, sources told CNN, and he accepted the results after they were announced.

Jordan said that he’s going to get back to work and it’s “important we do unite” to get to work for Americans.

“We’ve got several depositions lined up next week in the Judiciary Committee, work that we need to do for the American people and our investigative work, so we’ll go back to work there. But it’s important we do unite, let’s figure out who that individual is, get behind them, and get to work for the American people,” he said. 

Jordan also said he appreciated what he experienced over the past three weeks.

“I appreciated getting to work with everyone, talk with everyone. I got to know members in our conference that I didn’t really know that well over the last three weeks,” he said. 

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that “unfortunately Jim is no longer going to be the nominee” after the conference’s vote to remove Jim Jordan as their Speaker designee.

“We’ll have to go back to the drawing board. What history will look at the crazy eights led by Gaetz, the amount of damage they’ve done to this party, this country, is insurmountable. I’ve never seen this amount of damage done with just a few people for their own personalities,” McCarthy said.

“And really it’s astonishing to me, and we’re in a very bad position as a party,” he said. “I’m concerned about where we go from here.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said it’s “too soon” when asked if he was getting in the race.

A number of House GOP members left the closed-door meeting where Jim Jordan lost a secret ballot vote feeling more confused about the path forward and who is best to lead them.

“We’re back to square one” GOP Dusty Johnson told CNN. 

Johnson said the ideal candidate is someone who is not at all interested in the job. 

“I am hopeful that we’re going to find somebody who has probably never envisioned themselves in this role. Somebody who has been more interested in doing something rather than being something. We’re going to need a real leader to step up” Johnson said.

Laying out the stakes of what stepping up to lead this House Republican conference takes, Johnson added that the candidate has to “understand this is probably the last job they’re going to have in politics.”

Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green told CNN he is weighing a run for House speaker, has been encouraged to do so, and will make a decision tonight.

He’s going to talk to his family, and Freedom Caucus will meet today.

After the vote was announced that he lost, Jim Jordan stood up and said he accepted the results, multiple lawmakers told CNN.

GOP Rep. Russell Fry told CNN that Jordan said “he appreciated everyone’s support throughout the process that that he respected the decision.”

GOP Rep. Dan Bishop told CNN “He didn’t say the words I’m withdrawing but it was implicit in everything that he said.”

Rep. Dusty Johnson told reporters that “it’s going to be another couple of difficult days,” as they try and figure out who is going to be the new nominee for speaker.

Asked who he thinks will be in the running, he said, “I think we need to give people a little bit of time to mourn the developments, and then we need to get people some time to think about what they could offer the House and our country.”

Multiple members emerging from the closed door GOP meeting say they will move on from Rep. Jim Jordan. They’ll have a candidate forum Monday night at 6:30 pm EST and new candidates have until Sunday to declare their candidacy.  

“Jim Jordan is out of the race. We’re supposed to come back for a candidate forum on Monday at 6:30,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the House is leaving until Monday when they will “start over”

“Monday we’re going to come back and start over,” he said as he left conference.

Jim Jordan lost a secret ballot vote of the House GOP behind closed doors, sources tell CNN.

Rep. Barry Moore had said that members were taking a “yes” or “no” vote in their conference meeting on whether to keep Jordan as their nominee for speaker.

Rep. Barry Moore says that members are taking a “yes” or “no” vote in their conference meeting on whether to keep Jordan as their nominee for speaker.

“Just to leave Jim as our nominee or to figure out something else,” he said, noting they were told to “check yes or no.”

Asked what would happen if Jordan didn’t get a majority, Moore said he’d assume they’d need a new candidate. “I assume we’d have to nominate somebody else at that point, I don’t know at this point right now,” he said.

Moore also said that they are having attendance issues, as some members leave town for the weekend. 

“I heard there are some people on some airplanes going home. That’s frustrating for those of us who want to get the job done. So yeah, we need to be here fighting,” he told reporters.

New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota told CNN that Jordan has “inched” toward him and the other New York Republicans who want certain guarantees in exchange for their vote.

“We’ve spoken and he’s inched towards our direction, and we’re willing to compromise but I still think we’re far away,” LaLota told CNN. “He or any other speaker needs to find a way to keep the government open, while pursuing the commitments to America — securing the border and reducing debt.” 

LaLota also said it was “predictable” that the GOP would end up in the current stalemate. 

“Well, I think that the path down which eight Republicans and 210 Democrats put us was unfortunate, there’s a lot of responsibility. We all knew we were gonna get here. It was predictable that nobody could climb a 217 vote mountain in just a couple of weeks,” he said.  

Reps. Chavez-DeRemer and Drew Ferguson, who both voted against Jordan on the floor, also told CNN that they aren’t changing their minds. 

Some House Republicans who have been voting for Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker insisted that they still support him, even after 25 of their House GOP colleagues voted for other candidates on the third ballot.

Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said he has been encouraging Jordan.

“I told him that on the floor. He’s got a path to victory, and just keep voting until we get there, and let the American people see what’s going on here. Stand up, like we’re doing, and casting your vote,” Norman said.

Rep. George Santos said Jordan has to make the decision on whether it’s time for him to drop out — but noted he is still behind him.

“If he thinks it’s time for him to step down that’s on him. I still support him,” said Santos.

He added that he expects the members will have “real, open conversations,” during their conference meeting and argued that the eight members who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy should not “auto-censure” themselves in a bid to appease holdouts.

“Some of my colleagues are circulating letters that they’re gonna auto-censure themselves. That’s not what’s needed here. We need to come together as a team, have a real conversation in there, as uncomfortable as it is, we’re all adults,” said Santos. “So that we can figure out what’s the path is for all the come to the floor and vote for him for speaker.”

Two House Republicans who voted against Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker during the third ballot said they are holding firm, and argued that the conference has other options.

“We’re still getting more votes every time,” said Rep. Don Bacon. “It’s time for Mr. Jordan, who I have no personal animus towards, it’s time for him to step down. Let’s start with a clean slate, with no baggage. We have baggage going back with Steve Scalise’s election and Kevin’s and he was a part of that. So it’s time to move on.”

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, flipped and voted against Jordan for the first time on this vote, said it is Jordan’s decision on if he’s ready to drop out. “That’s his choice. You saw how I voted today,” he said.

Bacon and Fitzpatrick both floated Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry as an alternative. “Patrick McHenry doesn’t want it, but he would be great,” said Bacon.

Fitzpatrick added, “I think Patrick McHenry is the perfect person to just get us through the year and possibly the cycle.”

The Pennsylvania Republican also went after the eight Republicans and the Democrats who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, arguing that they should be “held accountable.” 

“I hope you all are asking the question of the eight and the 208 that put us in this position. Because they are the reason we’re here. Everybody needs to be abundantly clear that we had a speaker who put a two party bill on the floor to avert a government shutdown, and he was punished for it,” said Fitzpatrick. “That is the worst message you can send to America, the worst, and every single person that voted to punish bipartisanship ought to be held accountable.”

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick – who flipped his vote against Jordan in the third ballot – told CNN the House needs to get back up and running and predicted more opposition against Jordan if there is another ballot.

“I just think we’ve got to get the government open,” he said. “We cannot have an entire branch of government offline when the world is on fire.” 

Fitzpatrick said there should be a vote “immediately” to empower interim speaker Patrick McHenry. He also argued the focus should be on getting a majority of the House, not just a majority of the conference. 

“You can go for 218 in the conference or 218 in the Congress. I choose the Congress because that’s what’s representative of the whole country,” he said. 

Fitzpatrick said, “I think we need to move to Patrick McHenry,” but said “that’s his choice” when asked by CNN’s Manu Raju what he would say to Jordan if he stays in the race. 

Fitzpatrick said he’s not worried about potential political backlash, but that the standoff over the speaker is “bad for America.” 

Congresswoman Jen Kiggans also told Raju “yes” it’s time for Jordan to drop out.

The House GOP is voting now on secret ballot election on whether Rep. Jim Jordan should stay or drop out, according to Rep. Troy Nehls.

Rep. Ken Buck’s office said it was a “mistake” that he was listed on the letter from other holdouts, saying they’d be willing to accept whatever consequences if holdouts agree to back Jim Jordan for speaker.

Of the eight Republicans who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy for speaker, Buck is the only one opposed to Jordan for speaker.

“This was a mistake. Congressman Buck had not agreed to sign this letter and his name has since been removed. His position remains unchanged,” a spokesman for Buck said.

Rep. Jim Jordan again defended his choice to continue running for speaker after 25 Republicans voted against him on the third ballot.

“Even Speaker McCarthy took a dip and then came back,” he said, when asked if it is time to get a new nominee. “You guys said we were going to lose 15 to 30. We lost a couple and we had a few people miss it,” he added.

Jordan continued, “We’re gonna go talk to conference right now, listen to our colleagues.” 

Asked about several of his supporters saying it wasn’t looking good for him, Jordan replied, “we’ll find out.”

House Republicans are now meeting following Rep. Jim Jordan’s third failed bid for the speaker’s gavel.

Jordan has been losing support with each vote: There were 25 House Republicans who voted for someone other than Jordan, who could only lose five votes today due to the roll call vote absences. He lost 22 votes on the second round of voting and 20 on the first.

Meanwhile, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said he will support Jordan “all the way through.”

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday, “It’s time for House Republicans to embrace bipartisanship and abandon extremism once and for all.”

“That is your only way out of the House Republican chaos and dysfunction,” he said. “It’s my understanding that you have several extreme MAGA Republicans on the other side of the aisle … saying they will only ever vote for Jim Jordan. And if that in fact is the case, it’s an additional data point that there is only one way out.”

Jeffries said he has still not talked with anyone on the Republican side about some sort of agreement, saying “a leader to talk to is going to have to emerge” first.

“I have not had any conversations with the other side of the aisle,” Jeffries said.

“As we can see on the House floor, there are different parts of the House Republican conference who have rejected the extremism of Jim Jordan. So conversations hopefully will intensify today or perhaps continue through the weekend, and get us to a place where we can reopen the House no later than Monday,” he added.

When pressed on that date, Jeffries waved his hands: “It’s possible.”

GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz said the eight Republicans that voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent a letter to their colleagues encouraging them to vote for Jim Jordan for speaker and that they are willing to “accept some consequence” in order to get them to do so. 

“If what these holdouts need is a pound of our flesh, we’re willing to give it to them in order to see the election of Jordan for Speaker,” Gaetz said standing alongside GOP Reps. Crane, Good and Tim Burchett just after the failed vote. 

“If what people need is to see the eight of us rapped on the knuckles in order to get onto the business of governing, what we’re saying is we’re open minded,” Gaetz added. 

In terms of specific consequences, Gaetz said they “are willing to accept censure, sanction, suspension, removal from the Republican conference, we of course will remain Republicans, we will continue to vote with Republicans on Republican principles.”  

Many holdouts have expressed that their hesitation lies with the strong arm tactics used. Gaetz insisted that was the work of outside groups and not Jordan.

“We know Jim Jordan, I’ve worked with Jim Jordan on the House Judiciary Committee. He’s not a person who leads to strong arm tactics. I think Jim Jordan has been unfairly blamed by some for the tactics of outside groups that Jim Jordan has no control over,” Gaetz said. 

The eight that voted to remove McCarthy said they don’t support removing Patrick McHenry as Pro Tem. “Speaker McHenry Pro Tem deserves credit for resisting calls to expand the pro tem role beyond how it is contemplated in the Constitution. Patrick McHenry has earned our respect for having abided by the limitations on the power of the pro tem position and for that you should be commended.”  

Jim Jordan said he is not backing down even after 25 Republicans – the most so far – voted against him on the third speaker ballot. 

“You guys said we’re gonna lose 15 to 30,” he told CNN. “We only lost a couple, we had a couple of absents who would have been for us.” 

Jordan added that he will keep trying to get more votes during their conference meeting at 1 p.m. ET.

“We’re gonna try. I think so. And you know, we have conference in like an hour,” he said.

Jim Jordan again failed to win the speakership during the third round of voting.

There were 25 House Republicans who voted for someone other than Jordan – a higher number of GOP votes against him than in the first two failed votes in a sign that opposition to his bid is growing. Reps. Steve Scalise, Kevin McCarthy, Byron Donalds, Patrick McHenry, Mike Garcia, Bruce Westerman and Tom Emmer, as well as former Rep. Lee Zeldin all received votes.

In the first round of voting, 20 House Republicans voted for someone else. In the second round, that number rose to 22. 

Here’s are the Republicans who did not vote for Jordan in the third round, and who they voted for instead:  

Don Bacon voted for McHenry  Vern Buchanan for Donalds Ken Buck for Emmer Lori Chavez-DeRemer for McHenry  Anthony D’Esposito for Zeldin Mario Diaz-Balart for Scalise Jake Ellzey for Garcia Ferguson for Scalise Brian Fitzpatrick for McHenry (new vote against Jordan)  Andrew Garbarino for Zeldin Carlos Gimenez for McCarthy Tony Gonzales for Scalise Kay Granger for Scalise John James for Donalds  Thomas Kean for McCarthy (new vote against Jordan)  Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania for Scalise Jennifer Kiggans for McHenry Nick LaLota for Zeldin Mike Lawler for McHenry  Mariannette Miller-Meeks for McHenry Marcus Molinaro for Zeldin (new vote against Jordan)  John Rutherford for Scalise Michael Simpson for Scalise Pete Stauber for Westerman Steve Womack for Scalise

Rep. Troy Nehls, who has voted for Jim Jordan in the last three rounds, told CNN he will vote for former President Donald Trump if there’s another speaker ballot. 

“My next vote will be for Donald J. Trump,” he told CNN. 

Nehls’ comments are the latest indication there is a recognition among many Republicans that Jordan doesn’t have the votes. 

“You guys can see what’s happening on the television with the votes. I just don’t think he has the votes and I’ve talked to some of the 20 or so that have said they’re not moving,” he said.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said “we’re in a very bad place” after Jim Jordan again failed to win the speakership during the third round of voting.

“I think we’ll go to conference here shortly and see which direction we go in,” McCarthy said while talking to reporters following the third vote for speaker. 

“It’s a problem for the party that we’re in this place to begin with. And it’s 4 percent, eight members here, crazy members led by Gaetz, that put us in a bad situation,” McCarthy said when asked if it’s a problem for the GOP for Jordan to continue on without a path to the speakership.

McCarthy said before walking away that he thinks they will conference at 1 pm ET. 

Rep. Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, again failed to win the speakership in a third round of voting. 

The Conservative Partnership Institute — a group headed up by former Freedom Caucus Chair Mark Meadows, who is Jim Jordan’s close ally — has been an active player in the intense, outside pressure campaign aimed at boosting Jordan’s speakership candidacy, sources tell CNN. 

CPI has been coordinating calls and helping strategize with right-wing activists about ways to apply pressure on holdouts and whip up support for Jordan, sources say.

Jordan has denounced the threats and harassment some of his detractors are facing, and has denied any involvement in the right-wing intimidation tactics. But CPI is very closely tied to the Freedom Caucus, which even holds their weekly meetings at CPI’s headquarters. 

There’s growing anger among the holdouts over the bullying they are facing from some of Jordan’s allies on the right, and they say they are disappointed with Jordan’s response — which is only hardening their opposition. 

Rep. Don Bacon tells CNN: “Jordan and his team are in denial over the threats and harassment his supporters are doing. Jordan’s response has been tepid.”

Rep. Jim Jordan appears to have lost more Republican votes in his third round of voting than he did on the previous two ballots.

Voting is still ongoing, but so far, Jordan has lost 23 GOP votes. He lost 22 Republican votes on the second round of voting Wednesday and 20 on the first Tuesday.

Jordan could only afford to lose five votes from Republicans and still have the votes needed to win the speaker’s gavel today.

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

New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean switched his vote on the third ballot from Rep. Jim Jordan to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, saying that “it has become evident that Chairman Jordan does not and will not have the votes to become Speaker,” on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I will cast my next vote for Kevin McCarthy.”

In the third round of voting, Rep. Jim Jordan appears to again fall short on votes.

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

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

Rep. Katherine Clark nominated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker in a third ballot. 

“212 is our call for a speaker who will secure liberty, justice and opportunity for everyone. Well, the unanimous call of 212 House Democrats has been answered by our nominee for speaker, the gentleman from Brooklyn, the leader of our House Democratic Caucus, the honorable Hakeem Jeffries,” Clark said. 

Clark said Rep. Jim Jordan is “disconnected” from the American people and their values.

“MAGA extremism is designed to divide, and it has broken the Republican party. Their nominee’s vision is a direct attack on the freedom and the rights of the American people,” Clark said. 

Rep. Jim Jordan can only lose 5 GOP votes due to the roll call vote absences. There are currently 2 GOP absences and 4 Democratic absences.

According to the roll call there are 427 members present — which means Jordan needs 214, or half the total plus one. He can now only lose five votes with 219 Republicans voting.

A 216-216 tie would trigger a revote. 

But remember: Anyone who missed the roll call can still vote in the speaker vote – which would change the math on how many votes are needed.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy nominated Rep. Jim Jordan for the speakership ahead of a third vote.

“Jim Jordan is an effective legislator. To legislate is about more than the name on the bill. It’s about reaching compromise and working long hours behind the scenes to get the job done,” McCarthy said causing uproar in the chamber. 

He also pointed to Jordan’s legislative history, while comparing it to Democrats. 

“As the leader of the Judiciary Committee, Jim has passed more bills through the House in just three years than the entire Democrat leadership team that has a collective 28 years in Congress,” McCarthy said. 

The California Republican also said he called freshman members on Jordan’s committee and asked them what they thought of Jordan. ”Jim empowers every member of Judiciary to pursue what interests them,” McCarthy read off as one of the responses. 

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

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. 

Rep. Jim Jordan was unable to secure the gavel on the first and second vote. During the first round of voting on Tuesday, 20 House Republicans voted against Jordan. On Wednesday, that number rose to 22, showing that the opposition against the candidate has grown. There were four new Republican votes against Jordan and two that flipped into his column.

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

Even some of Rep. Jim Jordan’s supporters are warning there’s no path for him to win the speakership and urged against the idea of forcing more votes.  

Rep. Troy Nehls said he will continue voting for Jordan today — but didn’t commit beyond that, and he said he wants to start nominating Trump after that. 

He also said that while he doesn’t think Jordan is involved in the threats against those Republicans who have voted against him or outside pressure campaign, but said the concerns about personal safety are a reality right now and suggested it’s a reason to stop continuing with failed votes. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Dan Crenshaw — who said he will still back Jordan — said he recommends against a “flurry of votes” and said the opposition isn’t budging. “You can take that to the grave,” Crenshaw said.  

He urged Jordan to reassess, “step back and take a breather.”

It’s a sign that the opposition — and pressure to drop out — is only going to grow if Jordan keeps pushing ahead.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy called the fight for the speakership “chaotic” ahead of the third ballot. 

He also went after Rep. Matt Gaetz and the other members that voted to oust him. 

“As you know, I was opposed to the crazy eights led by Gaetz with all the Democrats voting to shut down one branch of government,” he said. “And this is where we are today now. So let’s get our way out of this and start governing for the American people.”

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

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy nominated Jordan for the speakership.

Rep. Roger Williams of Texas told CNN that he doesn’t believe speaker designate Jim Jordan should keep the House voting over the weekend. 

“I’m not advising Congressman Jordan, okay? But I know I want to go home. I want to go home and see my family. I’ve got a business I gotta check into and most importantly, I’ve got a granddaughter who’s gonna be five years old. That’s pretty important. So I’m not advising him,” Williams said. 

The Texas Republican said he plans to keep supporting Jordan but that if he loses more votes he should reconsider his position.

California Rep. Mike Garcia said he’s sticking with his vote for Jim Jordan but that if the Ohio Republican can’t reach the necessary 217 votes to claim the gavel, “at some point we’re going to have to look at the trend here, and see what the conversations are.”

“If the count is getting worse and worse for him, I don’t think that’s a great idea. If it keeps eroding we’ve got to probably hit pause and caucus as a conference and figure out a Plan F through L. Whatever we’re on now,” he told Manu Raju as he headed to the floor. 

GOP Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who has been consistent in his opposition to Jim Jordan for speaker, told reporters ahead of the third speaker vote that the opposition to Jordan will not change and only grow. 

“It’s not rocket science, right? It’s math, basic math. That hasn’t changed that won’t change. And so the issue is, what does he want to do? Does he just want to be doing this for the sake of doing it?” Diaz-Balart said. 

Responding to claims that Jordan’s team doesn’t know what the holdouts want, Diaz-Balart, who met with Jordan yesterday said, “I think, you know, everybody knows what the reasons are. Mr. Jordan knows what the reasons are. And so I think we’re beyond all of this as to kind of pointing fingers and everything else. It’s time to move forward.”

Asked to respond to claims that Jordan should get as many rounds of votes as Kevin McCarthy did, Diaz-Balart said it was, “totally different circumstances anyways, but we’re already basically there. I mean, we’ve been doing this now for a while.”

On his way to the floor for another speaker’s vote, Rep. Jim Jordan said he thinks he can flip more members and earn support from holdouts.

Asked what he would do if they continued to lose votes, Jordan replied, “You all said we were going to lose 10, 12, 15 votes last time. You said the same last time. We actually picked up a few votes lost a few it’s been back and forth.”

Jordan fared worse on his second ballot Wednesday, with 22 Republicans voting against him, compared to the 20 who did not support him on the first ballot on Tuesday.

Jordan added that “there’s no place” for the death threats that members who voted against him have been receiving.

“There’s no place for that. We’ve been totally against that,” said Jordan.

Rep. Ralph Norman, a Jim Jordan ally, said that he thinks Jordan should go all day and night with speaker votes, but acknowledged Jordan won’t be able to flip a dozen holdouts. 

Pressed by CNN on what the end game is, Norman said he thinks pressure from the “American people” and keeping the issue in the spotlight will help convince holdouts to change their minds. 

As some Texas Republicans are trying to get House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington to run for speaker, Arrington told CNN, “I am supporting Jim Jordan 100 percent. As long as he’s in the race, I’m all behind him. I hope that this works out better for him.”

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 the 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.

The House is reconvening for a third House speaker vote as Rep. Jim Jordan scrambles for support in his bid.

During the first round of voting on Tuesday, 20 House Republicans voted against Jordan. On Wednesday, that number rose to 22, showing that the opposition against the candidate has grown. There were four new Republican votes against Jordan and two that flipped into his column.

See the Republicans who voted against Jordan in each ballot.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Rep. Jim Jordan is a “clear and present danger” to democracy ahead of the third vote for House speaker.

“He wants to end social security as we know it. He wants to end medicare as we know it — doesn’t believe that President Biden was elected in 2020. That’s disrespectful to the American people,” Jeffries added.

Jeffries called Jordan the “poster child for MAGA extremism” and called for Republicans to join Democrats in finding bipartisanship.

“We are saying to our traditional Republican colleagues — good men and women on the other side of the aisle — end the attachment to the extremist Jim Jordan and join with Democrats in finding a bipartisan path forward,” Jeffries said.

Rep. Jim Jordan can only lose 3 GOP votes due to the absence of GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who a source confirms is in Israel.

With his absence, the total voting tally is 432, which still requires 217 for Jordan to prevail (or one more than half of the number of members voting). That means he can now only lose three votes instead of four.  

In a news conference Friday morning, Rep. Jim Jordan made it clear he has no immediate plans to abandon his bid for House speaker.

“We need to get to work for the American people. We need to do what we said we were going to do, we need to do what we told them we were going to do when they elected us and put us in office, and frankly, we can’t do that if the House isn’t open. We can’t open the House until we get a speaker,” Jordan said, as the House entered day 17 without a speaker.

“The quickest way to get all this working is to get a speaker elected. That’s what I’m hoping we can do today,” he added.

Despite the pep rally-style speech, Jordan gave ahead of the expected third round vote at 10 a.m. ET for his flailing speakership bid, he did not lay out a clear plan for his path forward. 

“The plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible,” he told CNN’s Lauren Fox when pressed for specifics on how many rounds he will go. 

Weekend votes are expected but given his plans have changed constantly this week, there is a lot still up in the air. The pressure he will feel when he keeps bleeding votes, as is expected, will be immense. 

He made the case for selecting a speaker as soon as possible. “We need to get back to our committee work. And frankly, we need to continue the oversight work that I think is so darn important.”  

Additionally, he said the House needs to help Israel. There was no mention of Ukraine. 

The House remains effectively frozen as long as there is no elected speaker – a perilous situation as Congress faces an impending government funding deadline and the threat of a shutdown.

CNN’s Clare Foran, Melanie Zanona, Haley Talbot, Annie Grayer and Lauren Fox contributed reporting to this post.

Opposition to Rep. Jim Jordan continues to grow within the Republican Party despite his efforts to flip holdouts over the last couple of days, according to multiple GOP members who oppose his nomination. 

Jordan lost 22 votes on the second ballot Thursday, and one Republican predicted he could lose around 29 votes as the House expects to hold a third ballot Friday morning.

The House is gearing up for another showdown on the floor Friday with a third speaker vote expected, the latest sign that Jim Jordan is not backing down even though he lacks the 217 votes needed to secure the speakership. There have been two failed votes so far.

As the Ohio Republican works to inject some life back into his flailing speakership bid, three sources told CNN he has made some progress with a small bloc of holdouts: New York Republicans.

If Jordan does win them over, that would still not be nearly enough to secure the speakership, given that 22 Republicans voted against him on the second ballot and more are expected to oppose him on the third ballot. But Jordan is hoping to show some sign of progress ahead of the next vote planned for Friday.

Read more about the speaker’s race.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has so far failed to clinch the House speakership in two rounds of voting.

On Tuesday, 20 Republicans voted against his candidacy – far more than the handful he could afford to lose given the party’s narrow majority in Congress. The congressman fared worse in a Wednesday vote, with 22 Republicans voting against him. There were four new Republican votes against Jordan and two that flipped into his column.

Jordan – or any other GOP speaker candidate – can only afford to lose four Republican votes if all members are present and voting on the floor. A speaker needs a majority of the full House to be elected.

These are the House Republicans who voted against Jordan in each ballot:

First ballot

Don Bacon of Nebraska voted for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon voted for McCarthy Anthony D’Esposito of New York voted for former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida voted for Steve Scalise of Louisiana Jake Ellzey of Texas voted for Mike Garcia of California Andrew Garbarino of New York voted for Zeldin Carlos Gimenez of Florida voted for McCarthy Tony Gonzales of Texas voted for Scalise Kay Granger of Texas voted for Scalise Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania voted for Scalise Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia voted for McCarthy Nick LaLota of New York voted for Zeldin Mike Lawler of New York voted for McCarthy John Rutherford of Florida voted for Scalise Mike Simpson of Idaho voted for Scalise Steve Womack of Arkansas voted for Scalise Ken Buck of Colorado voted for Tom Emmer of Minnesota John James of Michigan voted for Tom Cole of Oklahoma Doug LaMalfa of California voted for McCarthy Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted for Thomas Massie of Kentucky

Second ballot

Bacon voted for McCarthy Vern Buchanan of Florida voted for Byron Donalds of Florida Buck voted for Emmer Chavez-DeRemer voted for McCarthy D’Esposito voted for Zeldin Diaz-Balart voted for Scalise Ellzey voted for Garcia Drew Ferguson of Georgia voted for Scalise Garbarino voted for Zeldin Gimenez voted for McCarthy Gonzales voted for Scalise Granger voted for Scalise James voted for Candice Miller of Michigan Kelly voted for former House Speaker John Boehner Kiggans voted for McCarthy Lawler voted for McCarthy LaLota voted for Zeldin Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa voted for Granger Rutherford voted for Scalise Simpson voted for Scalise Pete Stauber of Minnesota voted for Bruce Westerman of Arkansas Womack voted for Scalise