The best chance so far [1] for the Kremlin caucus to get control of the House has ended (WaPo [2]).
House Republicans on Friday removed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their nominee for speaker of the House after he failed repeatedly to earn the necessary votes to take the gavel, again delaying the House from reopening for business.
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In total, twenty-five Republicans voted against Jordan and no lawmakers flipped to support him. Jordan lost more support than he gained during each of the three rounds of voting, a sign that his pressure campaign had backfired.
Exasperated, Republicans conferred Friday afternoon and voted 112-86 to remove him as their speaker-designate, triggering a new round of candidate forums next week to elect a new speaker-designate — their third in as many weeks.
Note that I said their “best chance so far.” It’s not their last. Among the announced candidates (as of Friday at 5:41 PM from The Hill [3]), three of them – Jack Bergman (MI), Pete Sessions (TX), and Austin Scott (GA) – all voted for Ukraine funding [4] last month. Two, Kevin Hern (OK) and Byron Donalds (FL), voted no. Four more potential candidates are being discussed: Jodey Arrington (TX – No), Dan Meuser (PA – yes), Mike Johnson (LA – no), and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN – yes).
The pro-Ukraine Republicans surprised many of us by taking a stand – and this includes my own member, Jen Kiggans. They need to keep at it, though, lest Hern or Arrington succeed for Putin where Jim Jordan failed.