As the House speakership selection saga drags on due to the collapse of GOP Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid last week, a whopping nine Republican lawmakers have jumped into the race.
The Republicans who have announced speakership bids include Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Byron Donalds of Florida, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, Gary Palmer of Alabama, Austin Scott of Georgia, and Pete Sessions of Texas. Scott ran unsuccessfully against Jordan for the GOP speakership nomination earlier this month.
The House GOP is slated to vote for a new speaker nominee on Tuesday, reports indicate.
Republicans hold the majority in the House chamber, but have failed tap a new speaker since Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from the role earlier this month. It took McCarthy 15 rounds of voting to win the speakership back in January, but earlier this month, eight Republicans voted with Democrats to boot him from the post.
Jordan, who had been backed by former President Donald Trump, came up short in three House votes last week, unable to cobble together enough support to reach the threshold necessary to secure the speakership. Democrats voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in all three rounds of balloting.
GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who had been backing Jordan, has now thrown his support behind Donalds.
“While I still believe Jim would have been a strong choice for Speaker, Republicans will now coalesce around another strong leader. I believe that candidate is my friend from Florida, Byron Donalds,” Roy said in a statement. “Byron is a strong communicator backed by a conservative voting record who has simultaneously played a central role in bringing together members from across the Republican conference to advance conservative priorities.”
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York responded to the news of Byron Donalds’ speakership bid by tweeting, “Donalds has only served 1 full term in the House. His most recent work involved submitting falsified evidence in an impeachment investigation. These people are not serious.”
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