Jim Jordan loses another speaker vote on day 2, but retains support of Van Drew, Smith, Kean

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) lost another vote for Speaker of the House today, but he retained the support of all three Republicans from New Jersey: Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-Dennis), Chris Smith (R-Manchester), and Tom Kean Jr. (R-Westfield).

Jordan received 199 votes and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) received 212; another 22 Republicans voted for a variety of non-Jordan alternatives. (Candidates for speaker need to receive a majority of all votes cast in order to be elected.)

The vote was yet another chapter in the prolonged battle for the speakership that began two weeks ago, when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a historically unprecedented vote. After several weeks of internal Republican maneuvering, Jordan came to the floor yesterday as the GOP caucus’s official nominee for speaker.

But despite getting unanimous support from New Jersey’s three Republicans yesterday, Jordan lost 20 votes from a variety of other Republicans, many of them more moderate members who are skeptical of Jordan’s right-wing views. The same situation played out today, with 22 Republican members ditching Jordan and backing other people like McCarthy or House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana).

Once again, though, Kean, Smith, and Van Drew were not among the anti-Jordan renegades.

Kean’s votes are particularly notable given that he represents a highly competitive district, and he’s already come under fire from both of his Democratic opponents over his support for Jordan. The congressman hasn’t directly commented on his votes, but he did loosely refer to them in a video posted to social media yesterday.

“This week, the House of Representatives continued to work to elect a new speaker,” Kean said. “It’s important to get Congress working again and govern, so we can address the major issues in New Jersey and around the globe.”

New Jersey Democrats, as always, were united behind Jeffries, who – for the 13th time this year – received the most votes out of anyone on the floor.

“If Republicans are looking for a competent Speaker with the votes to win, maybe consider the most popular candidate in the chamber,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing) said yesterday on Twitter. “[Hakeem Jeffries] leads the pack, just as he will lead the House out of this chaos. House Democrats stand united to deliver for the American people.”

As it has been for more than two weeks, the House remains in flux with no speaker, though a path forward may be emerging. Some Republicans and Democrats have publicly floated the idea of empowering current Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina) on a temporary basis so that the House can get back to passing funding bills and addressing the crisis in Israel.