On Tuesday at noon the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a new speaker with Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as the Republicans’ candidate after Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) dropped out last week. Jordan met behind closed doors with House Republicans on Monday night to make one last appeal to the holdouts. With House Republicans’ having a razor-thin margin and one expected absence, Jordan can only lose three GOP votes to get a simple majority to win the Speaker’s seat. Jordan has made substantial progress by gaining support from 55 Republicans who had previously refused to back him on the House floor. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called for moderate Republicans to join a “bipartisan” coalition after some House Democrats lamented Republicans’ support for an “extremist” over Jordan’s close ties to former President Trump and objection to the 2020 election results.
