U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) (R) talks to Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as the House of Representatives prepares to hold a vote on a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on October 18, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will back a plan to empower interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry until January, people with knowledge of the matter told NBC News and CNBC on Thursday.
The plan to temporarily empower McHenry to oversee the passage of legislation would act as a bridge until the deeply divided Republican conference can coalesce around a permanent replacement.
McHenry’s current powers as interim speaker are limited as Congress faces a ticking clock to pass spending legislation by Nov. 17 to avoid a government shutdown. President Joe Biden has also urged lawmakers to pass emergency security assistance for Israel as the Middle East descends into war.
Rep. David Joyce, R-Ohio, said earlier this week that he plans to introduce a resolution to empower McHenry so the House can move forward with urgent business.
Democrats have been talking to Republicans about empowering McHenry and there is respect for Joyce’s plan as a path forward, one of the people with knowledge of the matter, a senior Democrat, told NBC News. But another of the people cautioned that the plan to temporarily empower McHenry may not have enough votes in the House.
Jordan will remain in the race for speaker and try to shore up support for his bid should McHenry take the gavel on a temporary basis, the people said.
Jordan’s bid to become speaker failed in two separate votes this week in a stinging rebuke from his own party. It is unclear whether Jordan will push for a third vote Thursday, one of the people said.
House Republicans have been unable to find a candidate with enough votes to become speaker more than two weeks after a faction of eight GOP lawmakers ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California.
The House is paralyzed and unable to pass legislation until lawmakers elect a speaker.
The GOP has a narrow majority in the House, and in the absence of Democratic support any Republican speaker candidate can afford to lose only four votes from within their party.
So far, no Republican has been able to rally the party behind them. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was the GOP’s original nominee to replace McCarthy, but the Louisiana congressman was forced to drop his bid last week after it became clear he did not have the votes.
Jordan, who originally lost to Scalise in an internal party vote for the nomination, then threw his hat back in the ring.
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