Republicans in the US House of Representatives will again on Wednesday seek to agree on a new Speaker after another day of disagreement within the party on who should fill the role.
The Republican nominee for the post, conservative congressman Jim Jordan, failed to secure sufficient backing from his party colleagues in a vote in the chamber on Tuesday.
A total of 20 members of the Republican party in the US House of Representatives broke ranks and refused to support Mr Jordan.
The House immediately went into recess as Mr Jordan, a strong supporter of former president Donald Trump, sought to cajole those who had voted against him to come on board.
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However it was eventually announced that a second vote on the speakership would be put back until 11.00 am in Washington on Wednesday (4.00 pm in Ireland).
“We are going to keep working. And we are going to get the votes”, Mr Jordan said on Tuesday.
He rejected working with opposition Democrats to elect a new Speaker.
Given the small Republican majority in the House of Representatives, the party’s candidate for Speaker can only afford to lose three votes if all Democrats vote for their own nominee.
In the meantime the US House of Representatives remains effectively in paralysis; unable to pass legislation in the absence of a Speaker.
Mr Jordan had expressed confidence that he would secure the Speaker’s gavel on Tuesday. However when the vote on the floor of the House was taken he received 200 votes, well short of the 217 needed to win.
The number of Republicans who voted against Mr Jordan was higher than had been anticipated.
Mr Jordan had already successfully encouraged a number of House members who had previously opposed him to vote in his favour.
A campaign to put pressure on those remaining in opposition to Mr Jordan was expected to continue in advance of the second vote for Speaker on Wednesday.
Mr Trump on Tuesday again publicly backed Mr Jordan.
“Jim Jordan will be a great speaker. “I think he’s going to have the votes soon, if not today, over the next day or two”, the former president said outside the courthouse in Manhattan, where a civil fraud trial involving his businesses is being held.
All 212 Democrats on Tuesday voted for their leader in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries. But this also fell short of the number required to win the speakership.
Mr Jeffries on Tuesday urged Republicans to put forward a different nominee to be Speaker.
“There are many good men and women on the Republican side of the aisle who are qualified to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. There is no circumstance where Jim Jordan is one of them”, he said.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have been in turmoil for the last fortnight since a small group of hard right members rebelled against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, leading to him being ousted from the role.
Last week the Republican Party nominated Louisiana congressman Steve Scalise for the role of Speaker. However, he later withdrew after it emerged that he did not have sufficient support among his colleagues in a full vote on the House floor.
