WASHINGTON — Republicans will try to elect a firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan as the new House speaker, elevating a chief ally of Donald Trump to a center-seat of U.S. power and showing just how far the hard-right flank has moved into the GOP mainstream.
On Tuesday, the House is scheduled to start voting at noon in what could become a showdown for the gavel. At least a handful of holdout Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio Republican as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency.
But with public pressure bearing down on lawmakers from Trump’s allies including Fox News’ Sean Hannity, it’s not clear how long the holdouts can last. Jordan swiftly flipped dozens of detractors in a matter of days, shoring up reluctant Republicans who have few options left two weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster.
“The American people deserve to have their Congress and House of Representatives working, and you can’t have that happen until you get a speaker,” Jordan said after a late-night meeting Monday at the Capitol.
As the private meeting turned into a venting session of angry Republicans, he acknowledged: “We’ve got a few more people to talk to, listen to.”
The political climb has been steep for Jordan, the combative Judiciary Committee chairman and a founding member of the right-flank Freedom Caucus. Upset that a small band of hardliners have upended the House, Republicans have watched their majority control of the chamber descend into chaos since McCarthy’s sudden removal from the job. All House business has ground to a halt.
To seize the gavel, Jordan will need almost the full majority of his colleagues behind him in a House floor vote, as Democrats are certain to back their own nominee, Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Jordan fell more than 50 votes short during internal party voting last Friday, after Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the party’s first nominee to replace McCarthy,…
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