Editors note: Since this piece has been written, Jordan has fallen short in the second vote.
In the first vote for U.S. House Speaker on October 17th, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio fell well short of securing the majority need to claim the gavel.
Jordon was expected to be within 8-12 votes of the threshold — but the margin was actually around 20 votes.
“The word going in was he was shy eight-to-ten votes. And at the most 12. He wound up being 20 votes shy. That’s not a good signal whatsoever,” says Jim Weisemeyer, D.C. policy analyst for Pro Farmer. Jordan only secured around 80 votes, compared to the 100+ required from the full House Republican conference.
The larger-than-expected deficit is a blow to Jordan’s ambitions, and suggests he faces an uphill battle winning over skeptical members. As Weisemeyer notes, interim Speaker Patrick McHenry only lost by 15 votes in his first attempt, so Jordan preformed even worse out of the gate.
According to Weisemeyer, Jordan worked to assure Representatives GT Thompson of Pennsylvania, and Mike Rogers of Alabama, on allowing farm bill votes by the full house — given his history of opposing such legislation. However, as Weisemeyer explains, “Jordan has voted no on the three farm bills that he’s been able to vote on.”
“This is essentially a government shutdown, from a different aspect. Nothing can happen… and in the path to solution is very, very vague,” he explains, adding funding bills, Ukraine aid, and other priorities remain stalled without a clear Speaker.
Both parties will scrutinize future leadership votes. But as one analyst noted, if Jordan loses more support in subsequent rounds, “he’s done.”
Check out the full story between Weisemeyer and RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney, below:
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