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Mary Trump, the niece of former President Donald Trump, mocked Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan after he failed in his latest bid to get elected House speaker.
The author, podcast host and frequent critic of her uncle was reacting to the Republican representative losing the second ballot on Wednesday to replace Kevin McCarthy as House speaker by an even greater margin than Tuesday's vote.
Jordan, who was endorsed for the speaker role by Donald Trump, gained 199 votes on Wednesday, with 22 House Republicans defecting and backing other candidates. Jordan received one less vote from his own party than the 200 he received on Tuesday's ballot and is still significantly short on the 217 full House votes he needs to get elected speaker.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, NBC News noted that Jordan's 199 votes on Wednesday is "the first time in 100 years that the majority nominee got less than 200 votes. In 1923, Frederick H. Gillet got 197 votes on the first ballot and it took him 8 more rounds of voting to eventually win."
In a reply to the post, Mary Trump ridiculed Jordan while also taking a shot at the former president.
"Loser," she wrote. "(Donald should get this word trademarked.)"
Newsweek reached out to Jordan's office via email for comment.
A third vote is likely to take place on Thursday, although it is unclear if Jordan will get the almost unanimous support he needs from his own party to break the current deadlock and gain the 217 votes. The Democrats are expected to continue fully backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for the role, with the New York congressman once again getting more votes than Jordan in Wednesday's ballot (212-199).
Ahead of Wednesday's vote, Jordan urged the GOP to "stop attacking each other and come together" and back his bid in order to allow the lower chamber to work on vital foreign and domestic issues.
"There's too much at stake," Jordan posted on X. "Let's get back to working on the crisis at the southern border, inflation, and helping Israel."
Without a speaker in place, the House cannot pass or authorize any legislation, essentially leaving the lower chamber in limbo.
One possible alternative is to grant Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry more powers, an idea that has received bipartisan support.
The current role which McHenry was chosen to fill by McCarthy is essentially ceremonial. The North Carolina congressman is mainly holding the gavel to oversee the vote count for the permanent House Speaker position and does not have the authority to pass any legislation as it stands.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more