Ohio elected official Jim Jordan, close to Donald Trump, failed on Tuesday October 17 to be elected head of the House of Representatives in the first round of a crucial election, plunging the institution into crisis . He failed to garner the support of enough of his peers to make it to the perch in a plenary vote in the Chamber. Twenty Republican elected officials, mainly moderates, who criticize Jim Jordan for positions that are too extreme, voted against his candidacy.
The 50-year-old could, however, maintain his candidacy for the position of speaker for several rounds, meaning it is still possible he could make it to the perch. A second vote is expected late Wednesday morning.
The American Congress has two chambers: one, the Senate, is won by Joe Biden’s Democrats, but it is the other, the House of Representatives, in the hands of the Republicans, which has been experiencing an unprecedented crisis for two weeks.
This institution has no longer had a speaker since the historic impeachment of Kevin McCarthy on October 3, depriving it of many of its powers, including the adoption of measures to support Israel or Ukraine.
Division among the conservatives
Having a majority in the House and therefore responsible for electing its president, the conservatives have, for two weeks, been divided around the appointment of a successor to Mr. McCarthy. After numerous negotiations, Ohio elected official Jim Jordan, very close to Donald Trump and member of the most conservative fringe of the “Grand Old Party” (GOP), is currently the only Republican candidate in the running.
Elected to Congress in 2006, Jim Jordan has never succeeded in passing a single bill in his name. And he is, according to several rankings, considered one of the least productive elected officials in the House.
This election could, however, last several days: the dismissed speaker, Kevin McCarthy, had to fight for fifteen rounds to reach the perch in January. The Republicans want at all costs to avoid reliving this sequence.
Hakeem Jeffries Democratic candidate
In an institution still marked by the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the Democrats denounce Jim Jordan’s position on the 2020 presidential election, an election that Donald Trump still describes, without proof, as “stolen.” .
The elected representatives of Joe Biden’s party, a minority in the House, all lined up around the candidacy of their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, but they did not have enough votes to win the presidency either. The pressure on the House to get back into working order is all the greater since the Senate, the other chamber of Congress, is already preparing a large envelope for Israel.
This will contain “military, diplomatic, humanitarian and intelligence aid, all things that Israel needs,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday, hoping to have it adopted “within the next few weeks “.
The Senate must also consider a resolution condemning Hamas and debate, on Wednesday, the confirmation of a new ambassador to Israel.
