Republican disarray deepens as House members axe Jordan’s Speaker bid

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US House Republicans voted in a secret meeting on Friday to end populist firebrand Jim Jordan’s attempt to become Speaker, extending weeks of Capitol Hill uncertainty that will delay Congress’s ability to approve more aid for Israel and Ukraine.

Republicans, who hold a narrow majority in the House, will hold another contest on Monday to select a new candidate for the speakership, their third since the ouster of Kevin McCarthy two weeks ago. Another floor vote on the nominee could happen on Tuesday.

With the House in recess for the weekend, Republican representatives will be searching for candidates who can unite a caucus that has descended into bitter factionalism.

“It is another void,” Dusty Johnson, a Republican congressman told reporters on Capitol Hill immediately after the ballot. “It’s a couple of more days of chaos.” It was now “time for big boys and big girls to stop this nonsense”, he added.

The political vacuum comes as President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $106bn of funding to help Israel and Ukraine — as well as border security and humanitarian assistance. But in the absence of a Speaker, no legislation can move through the House.

Friday’s secret vote of the Republican House conference came after Jordan, a close ally of former president Donald Trump, lost a third consecutive ballot on the House floor to become Speaker.

The Ohio congressman lost by a margin of 210 to 194, as 25 members of his own party — a bigger number than in the first two votes — sided with House Democrats to vote against Jordan, delivering a decisive blow.

In a brief statement after losing the nomination, Jordan pledged to work as “hard as I can to help” whichever new Republican candidate emerges.

Kevin Hern, a congressman from Oklahoma, on Friday announced he would run for the role. Austin Scott of Georgia and Jack Bergman of…