The Ongoing Silence: Urgent House Speaker Selection Demands Immediate Action

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Seventeen days have passed since eight Republicans successfully removed former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position in Congress, putting a halt to all legislative activities on Capitol Hill.

After moving on from McCarthy and his deputy, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third choice for the Republicans, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, faced another failure on Friday. His attempts to unite the majority of Republicans and reopen the chamber were unsuccessful once again. It is worth noting that Jordan was previously described by a former Republican speaker as one of a group of "political terrorists" due to their efforts to dismantle Washington.

Here is an overview of the known information and anticipated developments:

Why does it matter that theres no speaker?

The House is essentially paralyzed until someone is chosen to preside over it.

A critical issue that must be resolved before any progress can be made is the ability of a placeholder named McHenry to restore order within the chamber. Until this matter is addressed, the passing of any legislation, including government funding bills and policy bills, remains unattainable. Consequently, Congress is experiencing a detrimental halt in its ability to effectively address and resolve problems through the enactment of legislation.

What legislation needs to pass and when?

The government is expected to run out of funds by November 17, making it necessary for a speaker to engage in negotiations with the White House and the Senate, which are both under Democratic control.

There is growing support for a bill to provide additional assistance to Israel following the recent attack by Hamas. However, support in Congress for ongoing aid to Kyiv has diminished, despite reports of Ukraine depleting its ammunition supply.

President Joe Biden has asked Congress for a $105 billion package that will include aid for Ukraine and Israel.

What happened to the last speaker?

McCarthy's tenure as speaker of the US House of Representatives was short-lived, making him one of the quickest to hold the position in American history. To secure the role in January, he made a controversial decision to grant any individual Republican member the authority to initiate a vote to remove him from his position, otherwise known as "vacate" him.

Unfortunately for McCarthy, this decision ultimately led to his downfall. Right-wing members of the party became increasingly frustrated with his reliance on Democrats to pass a temporary spending bill, which helped avert a government shutdown towards the end of the preceding month.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy talks with reporters at the Capitol on October 12, 2023.

Mariam Zuhaib/AP

McCarthys replacement will now have a month to tackle the larger problem of a yearlong spending bill before the government again faces the prospect of a funding lapse.

Does Jordan have momentum?

Jordan, who serves as the House Judiciary chairman, was nominated as the Republican candidate for speaker last week. While he received backing from a majority of Republicans through a confidential vote, it fell short of securing him the speakership. He has faced defeat in three distinct votes in the complete House.

He can only afford to lose three GOP votes on the floor, but opposition to him appears to be growing, not shrinking.

Why is Jordan controversial?

A notable figure within the far-right Freedom Caucus, Jordan gained recognition for his outspoken and confrontational nature while serving in the Capitol Hill. Expressing skepticism towards the 2020 election, Jordan emerged as one of the most ardent defenders of former President Donald Trump within Congress. In recognition of his unwavering loyalty, Trump honored Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the final days of his presidency.

On Tuesday, Rep. Jim Jordan experienced defeat in the initial round of voting during his attempt to be elected as the new Speaker of the House. This incident took place on the floor of the House of Representatives at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Jonathan Ernst/Reuters was the photographer who captured this moment.

The significance of Jim Jordan's elevation to the top position in the House, despite being a conservative lawmaker, speaks volumes about the transformation of the GOP in the era of Trump. Jordan secured Trump's endorsement earlier this month, when he was directly competing with Scalise.

Jordan has also been under scrutiny for his role as assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University during the period when a team doctor, Richard Strauss, was sexually abusing male students. Several of the victims have publicly alleged that Jordan was aware of their complaints in the 1990s but chose to ignore them. Despite these accusations, the Ohio Republican vehemently denies any wrongdoing or knowledge of the abuse. In 2020, CNN reported on this issue.

Who once said Jordan was one of the political terrorists?

Jordan, one of the conservative members, was labeled as a "political terrorist" by former speaker and retired Rep. John Boehner in his memoir. Boehner expressed to CBS News in 2021 that he observed Jordan constantly dismantling without any effort towards construction or collaboration.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio participates in a ceremonial swearing in with Rep. Jim Jordan on Capitol Hill in 2011.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

Jordan told CNNs Manu Raju he can unite the party.

"We identify as a party with conservative-center-right values, and I believe I have the potential to effectively bring us together. My political stance aligns perfectly with the prevailing beliefs of conservatives and Republicans nationwide," he expressed.

Utilizing his authority as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan has commenced inquiries into special counsel Jack Smith as well as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, both of whom are involved in prosecuting Trump.

What is the math?

The House currently consists of 221 Republicans and 212 Democrats. To determine the existing threshold for a majority, we subtract two vacant seats as well as any absences from the total of 435 members. This implies that the current majority threshold is 217 or possibly even lower.

Democrats are unified behind their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

What happens if no candidate gets a majority?

They continue voting repeatedly until one candidate obtains a majority or a recess is announced. McCarthy, in January, needed 15 rounds of voting and several days to secure the support of the majority of Republicans.

What happens during the vote?

The clerk of the House will gavel in the chamber and call a quorum. Democrats will place Jeffries name into nomination, and Republicans will nominate Jordan.

Are members required to vote for either Jeffries or Jordan?

After the roll is called by the clerk, each member will announce the name of the individual they are voting for. In the event that no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a second ballot will be conducted.

Is there an alternative to Jordan for Republicans?

: The role of the speaker is not limited to House members. Any member is free to vote for any individual and has the option to express protest by abstaining from voting or selecting "present." However, it is important to note that a significant majority usually supports their respective party's leader.

Currently, Jordan is not their preferred option, and it is worth mentioning that he is far from being their top choice. Almost all Republicans supported the idea of keeping McCarthy, but due to the narrow Republican majority, he lost his position.

Subsequently, Republicans put forth Scalise as their nominee for House majority leader. However, Scalise was not unanimously accepted, and instead of attempting to persuade those who doubted him by exchanging favors or negotiating, the Louisiana Republican decided to withdraw his candidacy.

Will Republicans revisit the motion to vacate rule?

Unifying a party that includes far-right members like Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who played a significant role in ousting McCarthy, along with 18 representatives from districts that would have voted for Biden in 2020 based on redrawn boundaries, proves to be a challenging task for anyone involved.

McCarthy's decision to grant any Republican the authority to demand a vote for the removal of the speaker has sparked a desire in both parties to regulate this power. The rules that the Republicans adopted in January could be altered by a majority vote. Jordan, while not yet expressing an official stance, emphasized the priority of selecting a speaker as the immediate task, leaving open the possibility of revisiting the topic of removal at a later time.

What about the temporary speaker option?

This logic resonates with many moderates, as providing McHenry with extended power until either the end of November or the end of the year would facilitate the passage of government funding bills and offer Republicans an opportunity to determine their new leader.

Its been 100 years

However, Democrats have expressed their willingness to assist in garnering the necessary majority vote for the plan, though specific details present challenges. A considerable number of Republicans are opposed to the notion of cooperating with Democrats in a quasi-coalition government. It should be noted that Democrats have not fully given their endorsement to the plan.

According to the House historian, there have been only 15 instances of floor fights in the more than 200 years since the initial two-year Congress convened in 1789. The majority of these contested speaker elections, except for two, occurred prior to the Civil War while the two-party system was still developing. During that time, floor fights were a common occurrence.

The epic record for a floor fight

Before McCarthy's election in January, there had only been one floor fight since the Civil War, which occurred exactly 100 years ago. During this incident, it took nine ballots for Rep. Frederick Gillett of Massachusetts to be elected as speaker in 1923.

In 1855 and 1856, Rep. Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts underwent a lengthy election process, requiring a total of 133 individual votes to secure his victory, once again through a plurality rather than a majority. The process itself extended for over a month, featuring a House floor interrogation of the three competitors, where they were questioned regarding their stance on the expansion of slavery. For further information, please refer to the House historians website.

Additionally, it is intriguing to learn about Banks. According to his official House biography, he has been elected to office representing different political affiliations including the Republican Party, an independent stance, the America Party, and the Democratic Party. Please note that this story has been updated with further developments.