JORDAN’S SLIPPING, SLIPPING, SLIPPING Rep. Jim Jordan is scrambling to regroup after falling 20 votes short in his bid for the gavel this afternoon. The Ohio Republican bled support from various House GOP factions, from swing-district frontliners to defense hawks to veteran appropriators. Jordan is vowing to stand for a second ballot, and he’s spent the past few hours behind closed doors inside the Capitol trying to assemble a coalition that could get him to 217. The House adjourned moments ago until 11 a.m. Wednesday, when the next vote is expected. Importantly, there appears to be a core group of lawmakers dead set on denying Jordan the speakership: Rep. Mario DÃaz-Balart (R-Fla.) this afternoon asked acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) to “immediately†reconvene the House for a second vote — one that would presumably show Jordan at a dead end. The request was quickly backed by GOP Reps. Kay Granger (Texas), Steve Womack (Ark.), Mike Simpson (Idaho), Don Bacon (Neb.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Jen Kiggans (Va.), John Rutherford (Fla.) and Jake Ellzey (Texas) — more than twice the number of Republicans needed to block Jordan. Revenge of the appropriators: If you noticed a thread connecting several of those holdouts, several are senior appropriators who have clashed with Jordan and like-minded conservative hardliners over discretionary spending cuts and brinkmanship tactics. Granger chairs the House Appropriations Committee, while DÃaz-Balart, Simpson and Womack are “cardinals†who lead subcommittees. Panel members Rutherford, Ellzey and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) also opposed Jordan in the first round, while another cardinal, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), suggested he might not stick with Jordan on a second ballot. DÃaz-Balart insisted that the appropriators hadn’t intentionally banded together to keep Jordan from clinching the gavel. “These are individuals making a choice,†he said. But they have been at the frontline of the frustrations over the hard right's confrontational tactics, which are at odds with the Appropriations Committee’s customary bipartisanship. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the panel’s top Democrat, said Granger is a “tough, seasoned appropriator†who doesn’t believe in the shutdown tactics embraced by Jordan. To head off a shutdown on Nov. 17, Jordan is pitching a long-term stopgap spending bill that would allow a 1 percent government funding cut to kick in on April 30, with the goal of extracting spending concessions from Democrats. “I do believe there's probably been great pressure on Congresswoman Granger and the other appropriators, but they know what needs to be done,†DeLauro said after the vote. “They know that you can't continue to have appropriations bills that are not bipartisan.†Driving the drama: Meanwhile, old rivalries appear to be creating fresh problems. Per a Jordan ally, Majority Leader Steve Scalise would not commit to helping Jordan win over the holdouts during a private meeting after today’s failed vote. A person close to Scalise, meanwhile, denied that version of events. “Steve has been the only candidate for speaker who said he would publicly support the nominee and he has and still will,†the person told Olivia. You’ll recall there were hard feelings on Team Scalise last week after Jordan appeared to shop short of pledging to back Scalise if he won the conference nomination for speaker. Jordan later offered to nominate Scalise on the floor, but the Louisianan’s allies say that offer came with a major catch. In any case, if Jordan pulls it out, it would make for a potentially explosive dynamic atop the House GOP. “It’s imperative that Republicans come together, stop attacking each other, and get back to work as soon as possible,†Russell Dye, Jordan’s spokesperson, told Huddle in a statement. Meanwhile: As the process drags out, conversation is ramping up about temporarily strengthening McHenry’s powers in order to advance legislation. That would require passing a privileged resolution naming him speaker pro tempore for a specified period. McHenry said he is not interested in the role and not involved in any of these discussions, a person familiar with the acting speaker’s thinking told Huddle. The person added that McHenry is working to get Jordan elected speaker. Fun fact: The House went 99 years and 29 days between multiple-ballot speaker elections before McCarthy was elected in January. This time, it was 283 days. — Daniella Diaz and Caitlin Emma
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