Horrible and perpetually inept Congressman Jim Jordan has now put himself through two rounds of public humiliation in his quest to be the next Republican Speaker of the House.
The first round of voting in the House did not go that well for the election-denying creep. Jordan received 200 votes on Tuesday, far fewer than the 217 needed to win the vote for House speaker. 20 of his GOP colleagues voted against him and he came in second in total votes to Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, as Democrats have continued to be consistently united behind their pick.
On Wednesday, a second vote took place and Jordan received even fewer votes, with 22 Republicans voting against him. According to CNN, Jordan says he has no plans to drop out of this race and another round of voting might take place as early as Wednesday night.
Jordan said that he is having good discussions with his colleagues. His colleagues, meanwhile, say Jordan is threatening them and their spouses.
Most Republicans dislike Jordan so much that some voted for two men who said they aren’t in the running: Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise. Why would 20 people dislike Jordan so much? (I mean, why wouldn’t they?) Do they see him for the unserious goon that he is? Is it his history of alleged sexual abuse cover-ups? His election denying? The fact remains that the House would become even more of a clown show than it already is with Jordan as Speaker.
Votes will keep happening until a speaker is elected. It is clear that Republicans aren’t, as a whole, fans of one of the worst people in Congress. The real question is if he will beat McCarthy’s voting rounds record of 15. There is also talk of simply giving more power to the also-terrible Speaker Pro Tempore, Patrick McHenry, and possibly foregoing the election of a new Speaker altogether.
This is all starting to look very pathetic. I am sure even McCarthy’s biggest fans were humiliated by how long it took for him to initially win the votes necessary. And we are in a much different place than we were then. In addition to the litany of domestic issues that need action, American political leaders are also focused on the Israel-Hamas war and this congressional clown show is not embarrassing, it’s an impediment to any meaningful action. The chaos of not having a leader in the House doesn’t help anyone—least of all Republicans, who are trying to force a narrative that Joe Biden is somehow to blame for the international conflict.
So who knows, maybe Republicans will rally behind Jordan quicker to show a strength of unity, even if they hate it. Or maybe they’ll do away with the constitutional norms and say McHenry can do it all. Welcome to governing under the GOP! It’s a mess!
(featured image: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
