Republicans nominate Jim Jordan as next House speaker

Republicans have chosen Jim Jordan as their nominee for House speaker, according to The Associated Press.

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The decision came a night after Steve Scalise dropped out of the race because he could not get the votes. Jordan was previously second to Scalise, The Washington Post reported.

Jordan’s nomination came after an internal vote was conducted. According to The New York Times, Jordan is a “hard-right Republican” and is the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. Jordan defeated Austin Scott by a vote of 124 to 81.

Jordan is the co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, according to the newspaper. He is also a favorite of former President Donald J. Trump. Trump shared his support for Jordan over just about a week after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was forced out.

“I think Jordan would do a great job,” McCarthy said ahead of the vote, according to the AP. “We got to get this back on track.”

Not all Republicans reportedly want to see Jordan as House Speaker or as second in line to the presidency, the AP said. GOP lawmakers are reportedly worried their House majority is being “frittered away to countless rounds of infighting and some don’t want to reward Jordan’s wing, which sparked the turmoil.”

It is not clear if Jordan will be able to attract the votes that are needed to be elected House Speaker after Scalise faced that hardship, the Post reported.

“I think we’ll get 217 votes,” Jordan said, according to CNN. “I think we’ll get 217 votes – that’s the quickest way to get unified and get to the floor.”

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