As lawmakers were getting ready to vote for the third time on Friday, Kevin McCarthy, the former House Speaker, put forward Rep. Jim Jordan as his nominee for the position.
Mr. McCarthy, who was pushed out by a group of hardline conservatives on Oct. 3, made the nominating speech as Mr. Jordan, also a hardline conservative, struggled to flip enough of the roughly two dozen GOP holdouts needed to win the job.
The former speaker aimed to persuade Mr. Jordan’s Republican rivals that he had the capability to unite all the groups within the conference.
“Being a speaker is a challenging task, particularly in this conference,” stated Mr. McCarthy. “However, I have witnessed Jim dedicating his entire career to advocating for freedom, regardless of the circumstances or obstacles, and I am confident that he is prepared for this role.”
Mr. Jordan has been working behind the scenes this week to try to convince holdouts to switch their votes. Many were dug in against him on Friday and discussing a backup plan to elect the appointed speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.
After being removed from his position, Mr. McCarthy has been advocating for Mr. Jordan. Despite being opponents in the past, Mr. McCarthy has promoted Mr. Jordan to the positions of Oversight and Accountability Committee chair and later Judiciary Committee chair. Currently, the two individuals have formed a strong alliance.
Mr. McCarthy said he called the freshman Republican members of the Judiciary Committee ahead of his floor nominating speech, and they complimented Mr. Jordan on his leadership.
“Jim Jordan embodies qualities of being direct, truthful, and dependable. These traits are essential for a speaker,” stated Mr. McCarthy.
