Constitution
Speaker vote canceled; when will House vote again?
The third vote to select a new Speaker was canceled today, and the House might not vote again until January 3, 2023.
The House of Representatives met today, then adjourned quickly, without taking another vote for a new Speaker. This followed a closed-door meeting of the House Republican Conference – and contradictory reports on whether Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had withdrawn his name from contention as Speaker – or not. And now no one knows for sure when another vote for Speaker will take place.
The votes aren’t there – and Bacon bears a grudge
The Gateway Pundit had a report at 10:20 a.m. today saying Jim Jordan had withdrawn from the Speaker race. Yesterday, of course, Jim Jordan not only lost the second round of voting, but actually picked up two opponents. He has twenty-two opponents at last count, and apparently they are adamant. (A thus-far unconfirmed report suggests certain lobbyists are firming this adamancy with money, favors, or both. But these posts from Rogan “DC Draino” O’Handley might provide that confirmation.)
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) apparently had several displeased constituents rally outside his Omaha office today at 10:00 a.m. CDT.
But that would have been after Jim Jordan dropped his hint about withdrawing. In any case, Bacon, at about 8:45 a.m. EDT, angrily suggested Jim Jordan is “done” and ought to withdraw. He even said he hoped the eight Republicans who supported the Motion to Vacate the Chair “would learn a lesson.” In addition, he charged that someone had texted his wife, saying he had ended his career. Finally he suggested he held a grudge against Jordan for the failure of the Steve Scalise nomination.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) charged person(s) unknown with making “credible death threats” in multiple telephone calls. She voted against Jordan in the second round, after seeing that he already had more than four votes against him when the tellers called her name.
But perhaps Miller-Meeks’ vote was part of a ploy to demoralize Jordan:
An interim Speaker?
At 9:00 a.m. EDT came a report that another no vote, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.), wanted to expand the powers of Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Speaker pro tempore. At present, his role is strictly to elect another Speaker. Now the RINOs want him to act as a Speaker for the rest of the year.
Then came the reports that Jim Jordan agreed to make Speaker pro tempore McHenry a Speaker in more than name. Fox News had another such report.
According to that report, the House would not vote again for a Speaker until January 3, 2024. But at 1:53 p.m. came another report saying that Jordan did want another Speaker vote.
Later came these posts:
The reason: many Republicans are opposed to granting more powers to Speaker pro tempore McHenry.
Already this drama is starting to become primary fodder.
Tempers are flaring, and Matt Gaetz almost caught a physical demonstration of the acrimony.
That someone was Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), who did that once before – on the floor of the House.
Rumors say “almost the entire conference was screaming at [Gaetz].”
Gaetz gave a brief interview indicating his opposition to empowering McHenry temporarily.
In fact, no House floor votes have taken place today.
Terry A. Hurlbut has been a student of politics, philosophy, and science for more than 35 years. He is a graduate of Yale College and has served as a physician-level laboratory administrator in a 250-bed community hospital. He also is a serious student of the Bible, is conversant in its two primary original languages, and has followed the creation-science movement closely since 1993.
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