For a second time in two days, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, fell short of the 217 votes needed to be elected speaker, another serious blow to the Donald Trump-backed candidate’s chances of seizing the prized gavel.
Jordan, the GOP’s latest nominee for speaker, received 199 votes; that was one net vote fewer than he received on Tuesday and a sign that Jordan is bleeding support rather than winning over his detractors. Compared to the first ballot, he lost four votes, flipped two in his favor and added one who was initially absent.
The backward movement indicates that Jordan’s hopes of securing the job are in peril, prolonging an unprecedented stretch of chaos for the Republican-controlled House, which has no clear path to electing a new leader.
