House GOP Crisis Deepens As Plan For Temporary Speaker Met With Angry Opposition: “Walking Republicans Off The Plank” – Update
19.10.2023 - 20:11
/ deadline.com
UPDATE, 11:57 a.m. PT: The Republican leadership chaos continues, as a plan to designate a temporary speaker has been sidelined and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) made plans for another floor vote.
Jordan, who has failed in two votes to become speaker, earlier today embraced a plan in which a resolution would be offered so that the current speaker pro tem, Patrick McHenry, would get additional powers through January. Jordan would have still been in the speaker race, but it would have given him more time to win over holdouts, which numbered 22 on Wednesday.
But in the closed door Republican conference meeting, there was a revolt among some members, particularly those on the far right, who viewed it as a coalition plan that would give additional power to Democrats.
After the temporary speaker plan was presented, “We decided that wasn’t where we were going to go,” Jordan told reporters. “I’m still running for speaker, and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race.” He said that he wanted to talk to the holdouts.
For much of the morning and into the afternoon, dozens of reporters lined the dimly lit hallway in the Capitol basement just outside the Republican meeting. According to multiple reports, there were heated arguments at points. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said that he was at the microphone trying to speak and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who led the effort to oust him, “tried to interrupt. Essentially I told him to sit down and he sat down.”
“I think the entire conference screamed at him. The whole country I think would scream at Matt Gaetz right now,” McCarthy said.
With the temporary speaker plan sidelined, and Jordan still unable to amass the votes, there seems to be no other plan at the moment to get