Jim Jordan Gets More Support As House Prepares To Vote On Speaker Tuesday

U.S. representatives are preparing to vote for a new Speaker of the House on Tuesday at 12 p.m. EST, while Republican Jim Jordan garners more support for his candidacy.

"I feel good about the momentum we're having," the Ohio lawmaker told CNN in an interview.

Jordan, chosen by the GOP conference as the nominee for the position, requires the support of 217 out of the 221 Republican representatives to become Speaker of the House, assuming that no Democrats will vote for him. Last week, his nomination faced opposition from 55 members of his own conference.

On Monday morning, he gained the support of House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, House Appropriations Defense subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Representative Ann Wagner of Missouri, who had previously been against Jordan last week.

"I feel good about it," Jordan told CNN. "We're going to elect a speaker tomorrow."

Appeal for unity

The Ohio lawmaker, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, posted a new letter on X, the former Twitter, urging Republican representatives to unite behind his name.

"The differences between us and our Democrat colleagues vastly outweigh our internal divisions," he wrote Monday. "The country and our conference cannot afford us attacking each other right now. It's time we unite to go back to work on behalf of the American people."

In January, it took 5 days and 15 votes on the floor for McCarthy to be confirmed as the Speaker. A group of about 20 Republicans repeatedly voted against him until some of their demands were met.

McCarthy was ousted on Oct. 3 after a faction within his own party was angered by his passing of a bipartisan bill to temporarily avert a government shutdown. Since then, Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina has been serving as the interim speaker.

The chamber cannot pass legislation until a new speaker is elected.

An aid package to Israel and a bill to fund the government are among the most urgent issues for the House to address. The stopgap measure that allowed the government to continue operating expires on Nov. 17.

Senate Initiative

Without action in the House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said that the upper chamber is moving to provide support to Israel.

Schumer traveled with a bipartisan delegation of senators to Israel over the weekend, where they met with local leaders and families of victims of the Hamas attack.

"I'll lead the effort in the U.S. Senate to provide Israel with the support required to defend itself from this monstrous attack," Schumer posted on X.