In its thirteenth day without a Speaker, the House meets at 12:00 P.M. for legislative business and will begin a quorum call by recorded vote prior to the vote for election of the Speaker. Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is currently short of the votes he needs to be elected speaker, even after the Ohio Republican picked up key support from holdouts on Monday. However, Jordan’s allies are bullish that he can eventually corral the 217 votes he needs, even if the vote has to go multiple rounds today. As of Tuesday morning, six Republicans said they were opposed to Jordan, while three more were leaning against him. Of the potential holdouts, at least five members have said they’ll vote for either former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California) or Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), while another three have raised doubts about whether they’ll back Jordan, and still others won’t say how they will vote. There are two vacancies in the House right now, due to resignations of one Republican (Chris Stewart of Utah) and one Democrat (David Cicilline of Rhode Island), making a total of 433 members. House Republicans have 221 members, while Democrats have 212. That means a majority of the House right now is 217 members — the number often referenced as what Jordan needs to win the Speakership.
If the House forges ahead after the quorum call, expect nominating speeches, followed by a manual vote. The House reading clerks will call the roll alphabetically. Members will respond orally, voting by name. It is unlikely that the House will begin the vote until after 1 P.M. with a result sometime well after 2 P.M.
The Senate reconvened at 10:00 A.M. and is expected to spend today working on nominations including Jennifer L. Hall to be United States District Judge for the District of Delaware, Julia Kathleen Munley to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and a Motion to invoke cloture on Karla Ann Gilbride to be General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a term of four years.
