US House Republicans mired in chaos without speaker after ousting McCarthy

WASHINGTON — The US House of Republicans has been without a leader for more than a week after majority Republicans threw out speaker Kevin McCarthy and refused to rally around his No 2, Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise.

On Friday, Republicans nominated Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, a staunch ally of former US president Donald Trump, but the vote was split. Jordan had lost to Scalise just days earlier, and the Freedom Caucus founder has a long way to go to win enough support from his colleagues ahead of a House floor vote.

Jordan will now try to unite colleagues from the deeply divided House GOP majority ahead of a public vote on the floor, possibly this week. Republicans split 124-81 in Friday's private vote, though a second secret ballot nudged his tally higher.

"I think Jordan would do a great job," McCarthy said ahead of the vote. "We got to get this back on track."

Frustrated House Republicans have been fighting bitterly over whom they should elect to replace McCarthy to lead their party after his unprecedented ouster by a handful of hard-liners. The stalemate between the factions, now in its third week, has thrown the House into chaos, grinding all other business to a halt. Lawmakers left for the weekend, and are due back on Monday.

Attention swiftly turned to Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman and founder of the far-right Freedom Caucus, after Majority Leader Steve Scalise abruptly ended his bid when it became clear holdouts would refuse to back his nomination.

But not all Republicans want to see Jordan as speaker.

Alliance with Trump

Jordan is known for his close alliance with Trump, particularly when the then-president was working to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to the Jan 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

His rise would all but complete the far-rightward shift of the party, and boost its defense of Trump in four separate legal cases, including over 2020 election fraud. During Trump's impeachment proceedings over the Jan 6 attack, Jordan was his chief defender in Congress. Trump awarded him the Medal of Freedom days later.

The path forward is uncertain as lawmakers prepare to return on Monday evening. Many Republicans in the majority were feeling frustration and an increased urgency to find a successor to McCarthy as a new war in Israel rages abroad and government funding expires in five weeks.

McCarthy, a representative of California, was suddenly and unexpectedly removed as speaker after just nine months on the job, leaving the House essentially leaderless with North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry in a caretaker role.

The days since have been chaotic.

Scalise was nominated by most Republicans as the replacement, but withdrew after it was clear he would lose the speakership vote on the floor, as McCarthy did 14 times in January before he was narrowly elected speaker on the 15th ballot.

Now Jordan will try to do better. If he fails, other candidates could come forward. Some Republicans have suggested McCarthy could stage a long-shot bid to return to the post. Others have suggested an unexpected candidate for speaker will ultimately prevail.

Agencies Via Xinhua