House Republicans abandoned a centrist push to expand Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry‘s (R-NC) powers on an interim basis on Thursday following widespread resistance within the conference.
Speaker-designate Jim Jordan (R-OH), who is 18 votes shy of winning the gavel, had been personally opposed to elevating McHenry, viewing it as a gambit to tank his bid. But with seemingly no path to the speakership after two failed rounds of voting, he told members in a Thursday conference meeting that he would back the plan to give McHenry additional powers until Jan. 3.
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The proposal, which any member can put forward as a privileged resolution on the House floor, would allow the chamber to resume legislative business after a two-week leadership vacuum. It would also give Jordan, who vowed to continue his leadership run Thursday, more time to win over the 22 holdouts voting against him.
Yet no sooner had Jordan come around on the proposal than the plan fell apart, at least for now. Members of the conservative Freedom Caucus opposed it, dismissing the approach as a bid to form a “coalition government” with Democrats, whose votes would be needed to approve the measure.
But even Jordan holdouts such as Don Bacon (R-NE) had “mixed feelings” as they emerged from what, by all accounts, was a heated conference meeting. The resolution’s prospects became more grim as most of House GOP leadership, from Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) to Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), came out against it.
“We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work,” said Jordan. “We decided that wasn’t where we’re gonna go.”
“I’m still running for speaker, and I plan to go the floor and get the votes and win this race,” he added.
The dramatic shift underscores just how fluid the race for speaker has become. Jordan is the second nominee in a week after Scalise, himself unable to attract 217 votes, dropped out. But it also highlights the conference’s inability to coalesce around even Band-Aid solutions to the question of who will lead them.
The resolution could be resurrected. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH), who floated the proposal earlier this week, plans to propose an alternative that incorporates the concerns expressed on Thursday.
“We just heard interesting conversations by some of the other folks in the conference, and I think we’ll take those into consideration when we draft something that will actually accommodate their concerns,” he said.
But members, from centrists to hard-liners, expressed reservations about drawing out what has already been a divisive process.
“To be honest with you, that’s not fair to other people,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), a member of the Freedom Caucus, said of giving Jordan more time. “No one’s had extra time to make the case. His time in the arena is now.”
Not everyone was opposed. The proposal has the support of some Jordan holdouts, such as Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), at least in principle.
“We need to have a Republican House that is functioning, so anything that can get us in that direction, I think, is a good thing for the country.”
But the desire to get back to governing was met with Republicans urging caution about the precedent the resolution would set for the House as an institution.
“You also have to think through the practical and political consequences at the same time, and so, I’m just trying to wrestle with all this,” said Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), who is undecided on empowering McHenry.
For now, Republicans are back at square one. Jordan could call up a third round of voting, but he is expected to bleed out more support among Republicans who feel he will never be able to overcome the resistance by centrists.
That has led to calls by Jordan backers for him to drop out.
“I’m tired of futzing around with this,” said Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), who voted for Jordan on the first two rounds. “I personally think it’s time for somebody to step down and move on and have another candidate.”
Others acknowledge the conference can only go so many rounds on the floor before moving on to someone else.
“I think if he’s not making progress, and indeed he’s hemorrhaging votes, then yeah, I think we need to go back to the drawing board,” said Gallagher.
Murphy floated Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), the head of the Republican Study Committee, or Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, as alternatives. But it’s not clear any candidate for speaker could get 217 votes.
Democrats, for their part, have expressed an openness to elevating McHenry temporarily and are engaged in private conversations about the terms of such an agreement.
He is a more palatable pick, given he voted to certify the 2020 election and has shown a willingness to work across the aisle on funding bills.
But Democrats are preemptively signaling that any support they may lend to McHenry, should the resolution be brought up, would be to restore “regular order” to the chamber, not support him per se.
“Look, I’m not voting for McHenry. McHenry was picked by Kevin McCarthy. Democrats don’t vote for Republican speakers, and Republicans don’t vote for Democratic speakers,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).
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“But he’s there. Giving him powers so that the House can do the people’s business, to help the American people, to help our ally Israel — that’s what I’m supporting,” he added.
Jordan plans to meet with those who oppose him early Thursday evening to try and win them over. There is the possibility of a third vote happening after that meeting.
