The latest on the House speaker race

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Live US House speaker race

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By Andrew Menezes, Matt Meyer , Kaanita Iyer and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN

Updated

What we're covering here

Jordan vows to stay in race: Rep. Jim Jordan affirmed this afternoon he's still running for House speaker despite substantial resistance. Jordan met with GOP holdouts this afternoon as he continues to try to shore up support after two failed speakership bids . Earlier Thursday, the Ohio Republican said he would bring a third vote to the House floor but did not say when.

Interim option scrapped: After a heated closed-door conference meeting Thursday, House Republicans said a resolution to temporarily expand the powers of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry had been scrapped and they will instead go forward with more floor votes for Jordan. However, Jordan faces an uphill battle to win over holdouts and is under growing pressure from within the GOP conference to drop out.

What's at stake : The House, which has been without a speaker for more than two weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster , remains effectively frozen — a dire situation as Congress faces a government funding deadline in November and as crisis unfolds abroad in Ukraine and with Israel’s war against Hamas.

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1 hr 58 min ago

Gaetz struggles to explain what he’s achieved with push to oust McCarthy

From CNN's Sam Fossum and Manu Raju

Amid the ongoing chaos in the speaker-less House, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz defended his decision to lead the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy from his speakership but did not articulate what he got out of it besides removing the California Republican from the position.

“We’re shaking up Washington, DC. We’re breaking the fever. And, you know what, it’s messy. But the only reason people think there’s chaos in this town right now is because the special interests aren’t in control any more. I think we’re going to have an upgrade on the position of speaker of the House,” Gaetz told CNN.

He added: “This is what it’s supposed to be: It’s not clean, it’s not orderly.”

When pressed by CNN that the current paralysis in the chamber means that members can’t legislate, Gaetz said: “There’s a lot of legislation we shouldn’t be considering that this may be blocking. So I wasn’t too thrilled with the legislation we were passing in the first place. So I don’t much mind taking a few days to ensure that we’ve got someone in the position with broader credibility than Kevin McCarthy had.”

Gaetz also addressed reports that McCarthy had yelled at him during a House GOP conference meeting earlier today and that Illinois Rep. Mike Bost then cursed at him.

“I’m a lawyer, not a baker, so I don’t get too emotional about the presentation of arguments and how we ought to consider things. But we got some folks here who have a different view. I don’t think too much of it,” the Florida Republican said.

Gaetz also called Bost a “fine gentleman” who sometimes gets emotional but noted that he had apologized.

2 hr 6 min ago

Top GOP leaders were at odds with McCarthy and Jordan over interim speaker resolution

From CNN's Melanie Zanona

The House GOP’s current top leaders – Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik – all stood firm at a conference meeting today against a resolution the would have empowered interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, sources tell CNN, putting them at odds with Jim Jordan and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Jordan, the current GOP nominee for speaker, and McCarthy had initially spoken up in favor of the idea during the closed-door meeting. But Stefanik, Scalise and Emmer remained opposed, sources said.

It’s just another example of how the divisions within the GOP have reached its upper ranks. In particular, there has been tension between Scalise supporters and Jordan's and McCarthy’s camps as the speakership crisis plays out.

House Republicans emerged from today's meeting, which went on for more than three hours, with a plan to scrap the interim speaker resolution and move forward with more floor votes for Jordan's speakership bid.

2 hr 17 min ago

Top Jordan ally says Scalise hasn't offered to give a nominating speech for the speaker designee

From CNN's Annie Grayer

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a major Jim Jordan supporter, said Thursday that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has not offered to give a nominating speech for Jordan, as the speaker designee struggles to lock down Scalise's allies.

CNN was first to report earlier this week that Jordan had asked Scalise to give a nominating speech on his behalf but that Scalise was noncommittal.

When Scalise had been the GOP nominee for speaker earlier this month, Jordan had offered to give his nominating speech. A huge faction of Jordan’s current opposition within the GOP conference is made up of Scalise supporters, and Jordan allies are frustrated that the majority leader hasn’t done more to bring members onto Jordan’s side.

“I don’t know about any of those conversations. I wasn’t privy to them” Massie said when asked about CNN’s reporting. “It seems like it’d be to his advantage politically.”

2 hr 31 min ago

Jordan supporter says speaker designee should "step aside" if he doesn't have the votes

From CNN's Clare Foran, Sam Fossum and Manu Raju

Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko, a supporter of Jim Jordan's bid for House speaker,   said the Ohio Republican would need to "step aside" if he can't secure the floor votes needed to win the gavel.

“I’ve supported him. I’ll continue to support him," the Arizona congresswoman said. "But if he does not have the votes, which it looks like he doesn’t, then we need to go on to the next candidate.”

Lesko, who announced earlier this week that she is retiring at the end of this Congress, said there was "a lot of tension between the members" at the closed-door meeting of the House GOP conference earlier today.

Lesko also said she had "real doubts" about a proposed resolution to expand the powers of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry . Several House Republicans said earlier that Jordan backed the proposal to empower McHenry until January as the speaker designee worked to shore up support for his own bid.

"It gives benefit to Jim Jordan. Even though I’ve supported Jim Jordan, it’s not fair in my view to do that and then give him more time because the other candidates haven’t had that time," Lesko said.

“I have real doubts about it,” she said when asked about empowering the speaker pro temp. “I also think it gives benefit to Jim Jordan. Even though I’ve supported Jim Jordan, it’s not fair in my view to do that and then give him more time because the other candidates haven’t had that time.”

2 hr 47 min ago

House Republicans are abandoning McHenry resolution and pushing for another speaker vote

From CNN staff

House Republicans emerged from today's closed-door meeting that went on for more than three hours with a new plan: Scrap the resolution that would empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry and go forward with more floor votes for Jim Jordan's speakership bid.

Members left the room saying that Jordan said it was his intention to hold another floor vote today instead of moving forward with a resolution to expand McHenry's powers.

But another floor vote would be contingent on three things – all of which have caveats – and show how unrealistic and steep Jordan's hill is to climb.

According to Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie: Jordan needs to call his wife; speak to as many of the 22 GOP members who voted against him as he can to see if they are movable; and have a discussion with Kevin McCarthy about whether the former speaker would nominate him on the House floor.

Most of the 22 Republicans who voted against Jordan on the second ballot yesterday have said they are firm in their position. Some have even received threats as the result of their opposition to Jordan. Massie said a number of the 22 members are not answering Jordan's calls.

GOP Rep. Dave Joyce, who has been leading the charge on the McHenry measure, signaled that he isn’t walking away from his resolution completely, warning he could still bring it up at any time. He said he will continue to work and is still worried about a House that is not acting.

CNN's Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Sam Fossum and Manu Raju contributed reporting to this post.

3 hr ago

Jordan: "I'm still running for speaker, and I plan to go to the floor"

From CNN's Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan says he’s still running for House speaker and plans to talk to the Republican members who voted against his bid for the gavel.

“I'm still running for speaker, and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race. But I want to go talk with a few of my colleagues, particularly want to talk with the 20 individuals who voted against me, so that we can move forward and begin to work for the American people,” the Ohio Republican said.

He would not answer when asked if House lawmakers were going to the floor today.

Several House Republicans had told CNN earlier that Jordan supported a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry until January as Jordan works to shore up support for his own speakership bid. But Jordan appeared to back off that support in his remarks.

"We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work. We decided that wasn't where we're going to go," Jordan said.

Some House Republicans said that there would be another floor vote today to try and elect a speaker.

New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said that they would give Jordan “a couple of hours” to speak with holdouts before they go to the floor.

“I think that’s what we are trying, to give him a couple of hours to do now, and I think we will have a vote,” she said.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker earlier this month, agreed.

“I think we’re going to have another Jim Jordan vote,” he said. “Today, I can’t wait to go vote for him.”

Gaetz added: “What I’m really happy with is this did not end with the desire to have speaker-lite or a ratified speaker pro tempore. It’s our obligation to elect a speaker, and I’m glad we were able to throw cold water on speaker-lite.”

3 hr 33 min ago

Republican member says GOP is not moving ahead with resolution to expand McHenry's powers

From CNN's Kristin Wilson

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said that the House GOP Conference will not move forward with a resolution that would grant interim Speaker Patrick McHenry more power in his role.

“No. It’s not going to happen,” Donalds said as he left the three-hour-long GOP meeting. “That is the decision, as I understand it, and I think even Patrick, to his credit and to his fidelity to the US Constitution, understands that we cannot just drop powers in the lap of somebody. The House has to elect the speaker. And then from that, everything else flows.”

Donalds said the votes “are just not there” for the resolution.

“And to my colleagues who wanted to support it, I understand why they wanted to support it. Because look, time is of the essence because (of) a lot of things that we have to do. But the No. 1 thing that this body must do was elect a speaker before you conduct any business.

So what happens now? Donalds says the plan moving forward still lies with House Speaker designee Jim Jordan, whom he says will have his support indefinitely.

“I’m with Jim Jordan until Jim Jordan says he doesn't want to run anymore,” Donalds said.

3 hr 37 min ago

House GOP meeting is going on 3 hours without clear path yet for McHenry resolution

From CNN's Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju

The House GOP Conference meeting is now going on three hours and has grown increasingly heated, with no clear path forward on a resolution to temporarily empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry.

Lawmakers in the room are debating the resolution — which has received fierce pushback from conservatives and others in the conference, despite the fact that Speaker designee Jim Jordan has gotten behind the idea. Others have argued that such a move is the only viable option to re-open the House given that no speaker candidate seems to be able to get 217 votes.

But some lawmakers say the prospects for the resolution look grim right now.

Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, who voted against Jordan's speakership bid in the second round of voting Wednesday, said the measure appears “dead.”

And former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose ouster earlier this month precipitated the current crisis, said he doesn’t think the resolution should come to the floor unless it has the support of a majority of the conference's support — which Republicans do not believe it has at this point.

A GOP leadership aide tells CNN that no decisions have been made about if and how they’re going to bring this forward.

3 hr 45 min ago

House Republicans are debating constitutionality of empowering interim speaker

From CNN's Morgan Rimmer

Florida Rep. Brian Mast said House Republicans in the closed-door conference meeting are debating whether it is constitutional to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry any further until a new permanent speaker is elected.

“I don’t think, in this moment, from my analysis, that’s constitutionally something he can do, is take over additional powers,” Mast said of expanding McHenry's role. “It might stand, but it’s a dangerous precedent that is not clarified and that he’s not likely going to undertake.”

Several House Republicans have told CNN that Speaker designee Jim Jordan supports the plan to enhance McHenry's powers as interim speaker until January as the Ohio Republican works to shore up support for his own speakership bid.

Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially moving legislation through the chamber, although the specifics aren't clear as yet.

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Live Israel-Hamas war rages. Live US House speaker race. Live Updates. By Andrew Menezes, Matt Meyer , Kaanita Iyer and Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN. Updated. What we're covering here. Jordan vows to stay in race: Rep. Jim Jordan affirmed this afternoon he's still running for House speaker despite substantial resistance. Jordan met with GOP holdouts this afternoon as he continues to try to shore up support after two failed speakership bids . Earlier Thursday, the Ohio Republican said he would bring a third vote to the House floor but did not say when. Interim option scrapped: After a heated closed-door conference meeting Thursday, House Republicans said a resolution to temporarily expand the powers of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry had been scrapped and they will instead go forward with more floor votes for Jordan. However, Jordan faces an uphill battle to win over holdouts and is under growing pressure from within the GOP conference to drop out. What's at stake : The House, which has been without a speaker for more than two weeks after Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster , remains effectively frozen — a dire situation as Congress faces a government funding deadline in November and as crisis unfolds abroad in Ukraine and with Israel’s war against Hamas. Sort by. 1 hr 58 min ago. Gaetz struggles to explain what he’s achieved with push to oust McCarthy. From CNN's Sam Fossum and Manu Raju. Amid the ongoing chaos in the speaker-less House, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz defended his decision to lead the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy from his speakership but did not articulate what he got out of it besides removing the California Republican from the position. “We’re shaking up Washington, DC. We’re breaking the fever. And, you know what, it’s messy. But the only reason people think there’s chaos in this town right now is because the special interests aren’t in control any more. I think we’re going to have an upgrade on the position of speaker of the House,” Gaetz told CNN. He added: “This is what it’s supposed to be: It’s not clean, it’s not orderly.” When pressed by CNN that the current paralysis in the chamber means that members can’t legislate, Gaetz said: “There’s a lot of legislation we shouldn’t be considering that this may be blocking. So I wasn’t too thrilled with the legislation we were passing in the first place. So I don’t much mind taking a few days to ensure that we’ve got someone in the position with broader credibility than Kevin McCarthy had.” Gaetz also addressed reports that McCarthy had yelled at him during a House GOP conference meeting earlier today and that Illinois Rep. Mike Bost then cursed at him. “I’m a lawyer, not a baker, so I don’t get too emotional about the presentation of arguments and how we ought to consider things. But we got some folks here who have a different view. I don’t think too much of it,” the Florida Republican said. Gaetz also called Bost a “fine gentleman” who sometimes gets emotional but noted that he had apologized. 2 hr 6 min ago. Top GOP leaders were at odds with McCarthy and Jordan over interim speaker resolution. From CNN's Melanie Zanona. The House GOP’s current top leaders – Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer and Conference Chair Elise Stefanik – all stood firm at a conference meeting today against a resolution the would have empowered interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, sources tell CNN, putting them at odds with Jim Jordan and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Jordan, the current GOP nominee for speaker, and McCarthy had initially spoken up in favor of the idea during the closed-door meeting. But Stefanik, Scalise and Emmer remained opposed, sources said. It’s just another example of how the divisions within the GOP have reached its upper ranks. In particular, there has been tension between Scalise supporters and Jordan's and McCarthy’s camps as the speakership crisis plays out. House Republicans emerged from today's meeting, which went on for more than three hours, with a plan to scrap the interim speaker resolution and move forward with more floor votes for Jordan's speakership bid. 2 hr 17 min ago. Top Jordan ally says Scalise hasn't offered to give a nominating speech for the speaker designee. From CNN's Annie Grayer. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, a major Jim Jordan supporter, said Thursday that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has not offered to give a nominating speech for Jordan, as the speaker designee struggles to lock down Scalise's allies. CNN was first to report earlier this week that Jordan had asked Scalise to give a nominating speech on his behalf but that Scalise was noncommittal. When Scalise had been the GOP nominee for speaker earlier this month, Jordan had offered to give his nominating speech. A huge faction of Jordan’s current opposition within the GOP conference is made up of Scalise supporters, and Jordan allies are frustrated that the majority leader hasn’t done more to bring members onto Jordan’s side. “I don’t know about any of those conversations. I wasn’t privy to them” Massie said when asked about CNN’s reporting. “It seems like it’d be to his advantage politically.” 2 hr 31 min ago. Jordan supporter says speaker designee should "step aside" if he doesn't have the votes. From CNN's Clare Foran, Sam Fossum and Manu Raju. Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko, a supporter of Jim Jordan's bid for House speaker,   said the Ohio Republican would need to "step aside" if he can't secure the floor votes needed to win the gavel. “I’ve supported him. I’ll continue to support him," the Arizona congresswoman said. "But if he does not have the votes, which it looks like he doesn’t, then we need to go on to the next candidate.” Lesko, who announced earlier this week that she is retiring at the end of this Congress, said there was "a lot of tension between the members" at the closed-door meeting of the House GOP conference earlier today. Lesko also said she had "real doubts" about a proposed resolution to expand the powers of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry . Several House Republicans said earlier that Jordan backed the proposal to empower McHenry until January as the speaker designee worked to shore up support for his own bid. "It gives benefit to Jim Jordan. Even though I’ve supported Jim Jordan, it’s not fair in my view to do that and then give him more time because the other candidates haven’t had that time," Lesko said. “I have real doubts about it,” she said when asked about empowering the speaker pro temp. “I also think it gives benefit to Jim Jordan. Even though I’ve supported Jim Jordan, it’s not fair in my view to do that and then give him more time because the other candidates haven’t had that time.” 2 hr 47 min ago. House Republicans are abandoning McHenry resolution and pushing for another speaker vote. From CNN staff. House Republicans emerged from today's closed-door meeting that went on for more than three hours with a new plan: Scrap the resolution that would empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry and go forward with more floor votes for Jim Jordan's speakership bid. Members left the room saying that Jordan said it was his intention to hold another floor vote today instead of moving forward with a resolution to expand McHenry's powers. But another floor vote would be contingent on three things – all of which have caveats – and show how unrealistic and steep Jordan's hill is to climb. According to Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie: Jordan needs to call his wife; speak to as many of the 22 GOP members who voted against him as he can to see if they are movable; and have a discussion with Kevin McCarthy about whether the former speaker would nominate him on the House floor. Most of the 22 Republicans who voted against Jordan on the second ballot yesterday have said they are firm in their position. Some have even received threats as the result of their opposition to Jordan. Massie said a number of the 22 members are not answering Jordan's calls. GOP Rep. Dave Joyce, who has been leading the charge on the McHenry measure, signaled that he isn’t walking away from his resolution completely, warning he could still bring it up at any time. He said he will continue to work and is still worried about a House that is not acting. CNN's Lauren Fox, Clare Foran, Sam Fossum and Manu Raju contributed reporting to this post. 3 hr ago. Jordan: "I'm still running for speaker, and I plan to go to the floor" From CNN's Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson. Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan says he’s still running for House speaker and plans to talk to the Republican members who voted against his bid for the gavel. “I'm still running for speaker, and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race. But I want to go talk with a few of my colleagues, particularly want to talk with the 20 individuals who voted against me, so that we can move forward and begin to work for the American people,” the Ohio Republican said. He would not answer when asked if House lawmakers were going to the floor today. Several House Republicans had told CNN earlier that Jordan supported a resolution to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry until January as Jordan works to shore up support for his own speakership bid. But Jordan appeared to back off that support in his remarks. "We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work. We decided that wasn't where we're going to go," Jordan said. Some House Republicans said that there would be another floor vote today to try and elect a speaker. New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said that they would give Jordan “a couple of hours” to speak with holdouts before they go to the floor. “I think that’s what we are trying, to give him a couple of hours to do now, and I think we will have a vote,” she said. Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker earlier this month, agreed. “I think we’re going to have another Jim Jordan vote,” he said. “Today, I can’t wait to go vote for him.” Gaetz added: “What I’m really happy with is this did not end with the desire to have speaker-lite or a ratified speaker pro tempore. It’s our obligation to elect a speaker, and I’m glad we were able to throw cold water on speaker-lite.” 3 hr 33 min ago. Republican member says GOP is not moving ahead with resolution to expand McHenry's powers. From CNN's Kristin Wilson. Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said that the House GOP Conference will not move forward with a resolution that would grant interim Speaker Patrick McHenry more power in his role. “No. It’s not going to happen,” Donalds said as he left the three-hour-long GOP meeting. “That is the decision, as I understand it, and I think even Patrick, to his credit and to his fidelity to the US Constitution, understands that we cannot just drop powers in the lap of somebody. The House has to elect the speaker. And then from that, everything else flows.” Donalds said the votes “are just not there” for the resolution. “And to my colleagues who wanted to support it, I understand why they wanted to support it. Because look, time is of the essence because (of) a lot of things that we have to do. But the No. 1 thing that this body must do was elect a speaker before you conduct any business. So what happens now? Donalds says the plan moving forward still lies with House Speaker designee Jim Jordan, whom he says will have his support indefinitely. “I’m with Jim Jordan until Jim Jordan says he doesn't want to run anymore,” Donalds said. 3 hr 37 min ago. House GOP meeting is going on 3 hours without clear path yet for McHenry resolution. From CNN's Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju. The House GOP Conference meeting is now going on three hours and has grown increasingly heated, with no clear path forward on a resolution to temporarily empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry. Lawmakers in the room are debating the resolution — which has received fierce pushback from conservatives and others in the conference, despite the fact that Speaker designee Jim Jordan has gotten behind the idea. Others have argued that such a move is the only viable option to re-open the House given that no speaker candidate seems to be able to get 217 votes. But some lawmakers say the prospects for the resolution look grim right now. Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, who voted against Jordan's speakership bid in the second round of voting Wednesday, said the measure appears “dead.” And former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, whose ouster earlier this month precipitated the current crisis, said he doesn’t think the resolution should come to the floor unless it has the support of a majority of the conference's support — which Republicans do not believe it has at this point. A GOP leadership aide tells CNN that no decisions have been made about if and how they’re going to bring this forward. 3 hr 45 min ago. House Republicans are debating constitutionality of empowering interim speaker. From CNN's Morgan Rimmer. Florida Rep. Brian Mast said House Republicans in the closed-door conference meeting are debating whether it is constitutional to empower interim Speaker Patrick McHenry any further until a new permanent speaker is elected. “I don’t think, in this moment, from my analysis, that’s constitutionally something he can do, is take over additional powers,” Mast said of expanding McHenry's role. “It might stand, but it’s a dangerous precedent that is not clarified and that he’s not likely going to undertake.” Several House Republicans have told CNN that Speaker designee Jim Jordan supports the plan to enhance McHenry's powers as interim speaker until January as the Ohio Republican works to shore up support for his own speakership bid. Empowering McHenry would expand his ability beyond just administering a speaker vote to potentially moving legislation through the chamber, although the specifics aren't clear as yet.