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GOP wants this House drama: Kevin Corke
FOX News senior national correspondent Kevin Corke and POLITICO congressional reporter Olivia Beavers react to the frozen House as they try to pick a Speaker.
As reporters chased Jim Jordan down a hallway shortly before yesterday’s vote, he declared himself “confident” of winning the speaker’s job.
He wouldn’t say if he had enough support or how many rounds of voting he was prepared to endure.
His confidence wasn’t enough. With 20 Republicans voting for others – even though Jordan’s opponents couldn’t find a protest candidate to run – he lost the first round.
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Actually, it was quite a feat for the Judiciary Committee chairman to lose by that margin – he could only afford three defectors – since he’d only gotten 124 votes in the GOP’s secret ballot, far short of the magic number of 217. Since a few of the converts had vowed to never, ever back Jordan, that highlighted his skill at winning over members.
His strongest argument at the moment may well be that with the speaker’s job vacant for nearly two weeks since Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, the House remains paralyzed, unable to vote even on such urgent issues as military aid to Israel.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, walks through the Capitol as Republicans attempt to elect him to be the new House speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Still, for Jordan to come this close to the speakership speaks volumes about the direction of the Republican Party. He is a fiery lawmaker who can dominate hearings, extremely conservative, and leading the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Deemed part of the GOP’s fringe a few years ago, he’s now closer to the center of gravity.
Jordan, who is backed by Donald Trump, was very active in trying to block the Electoral College certification of Biden, both before and in the hours after the…
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