Republicans Predict Jim Jordan Will Lose More Votes on Third Speaker Ballot

Republicans opposed to GOP speaker of the House nominee Jim Jordan's candidacy are predicting that the opposition will grow on a third ballot.

Jordan is the second Republican choice to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the role in an unprecedented motion to vacate filed by GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz earlier this month. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise withdrew his nomination last week after several hard-right Republicans refused to back him in favor of Jordan's bid.

So far, there is little evidence that Jordan has the support required to secure the 217 votes that are required to become speaker. He was defeated for a second time on Wednesday, falling short by 18 votes. The number of Republicans who voted against the Ohio congressman also increased by two from his first failed vote on Tuesday, going from 20 to 22.

Jordan, whose bid for speaker has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has not withdrawn his candidacy despite the apparent drop in support. He announced that a third vote on the matter had been scheduled to take place at noon on Thursday, while telling CNN after the failed second vote that he believes he can still win the gavel.

While Jordan and his allies are likely to attempt to win over the holdouts before the next vote, a number of the House Republicans who have voted against the speaker-designee have indicated that they expect his support to drop even further on the third ballot.

Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, who was the first Republican to vote against Jordan during the initial vote on Tuesday, predicted during a Fox News interview on Wednesday that "five or six" additional GOP members would soon hand Jordan an additional failure.

"We're confident," Bacon said. "Next vote, he's going to lose five or six more votes. He going to be going backwards."

Similar remarks were made by Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, who told CNN that he would "never" vote for Jordan and predicted that the congressman would "lose a bigger chunk" of Republicans if he remains a candidate in the next vote.

Representative Steve Womack, an Arkansas Republican, predicted that it would "get a lot worse" for Jordan if he persists, calling a third ballot the "final straw," according to NBC News.

New York Representative Mike Lawler argued that it was "clear [Jordan] doesn't have the votes" in comments to CNN's Manu Raju, while also predicting that "you'll see more folks dropping off on a third ballot."

Newsweek reached out for comment to Jordan's office via email on Wednesday evening.

In stark contrast to the division among House Republicans, Democrats remained united during each of the votes for speaker, with all 212 Democratic members backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

However, a bipartisan deal to empower Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry to resume the normal business of the House may be brewing in the absence of Republicans selecting a permanent speaker.

Centrist GOP Congressman David Joyce, a representative for Ohio, and other Republicans are reportedly considering working with Democrats to at least temporarily end the House gridlock by granting expanded powers to McHenry, whose role is currently limited to overseeing the election of a new speaker.

McHenry reportedly waffled on Wednesday when asked whether a third vote for speaker was certain to take place on Thursday, referring to the vote as only one "option."