Could the House GOP finally put an end to its clumsy efforts at electing a Speaker of the House? A fruitful one at that!
The Republicans were in a collision with the next vote on Speaker, scheduled for Tuesday. Steve Scalise dropped from the race to support Jim Jordan last week, but many House Republicans did not follow his example.
Mike Rogers is one of the notable holdouts. Even as recently as this morning it was reported that Rogers had adamantly opposed Jordan becoming Speaker and was in fact talking to Democrats about teaming together ahead of the vote.
Rogers, then, reportedly went into a meeting behind closed doors with Democrats and asked Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority Leader, what concessions Republicans needed to make to reach a deal with Democrats regarding a new Speaker.
Rogers didn’t say he was open to Jeffries being nominated as the Democratic choice for Speaker, but that he was open to finding a compromise with Democrats. Previously, compromises included splitting the membership of important committees and other concessions related to the process.
Jim Jordan has been able to bring Rogers back into the fold, in an attempt to meet the 217 votes threshold. Rogers announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he was now supporting Jordan.
Jim Jordan and I have had two productive, cordial, and thoughtful conversations in the last two days. We both agreed that Congress must pass a strong NDAA and appropriations in order to fund the vital functions of our government, as well as other important legislation such as the Farm Bill.
In the end, I decided to vote for Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House.
Since my first election to the House, I have always supported the majority of the Republican Conference. Together, we will be stronger in our fight against Joe Biden’s reckless plan for America.
Jordan’s progress towards 217 will be determined by how close this brings him. Rogers is one of the fifty-five Republicans who said on Friday they wouldn’t support Jordan in this week’s vote by the House. There are reports that some GOP members of the House will nominate a yet-unnamed opponent when they convene tomorrow.
Jordan, for his part, welcomed Rogers’ support by tweeting:
Thank you, Chairman Rogers. Your leadership is just what our Conference needs right now.
We must all keep coming together and get back to work. https://t.co/vAgSY1yGi3
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 16, 2023
Rogers’s decision to fall in line behind Jordan has certainly diminished the ability of Democrats, but the rogue GOP element is determined to keep the next vote interesting. Jordan appears to realize the importance of having a speakerless House in light of the increased tensions in the Middle East. He is making the right decisions to gain support and to avoid another frustrating vote.
The next vote in the House for Speaker will be held on Tuesday, at 12 noon Eastern time.
