OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was recently ousted as Speaker, could run again with Rep. Jim Jordan as his deputy, some sources allege.
On Tuesday night, two sources confirmed to Fox News Digital the plan to reinstate McCarthy as speaker and elevate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to assistant speaker.
Jordan was the second speaker-designate for the House GOP and had to withdraw from the race after failing three chamber-wide votes and then losing by anonymous ballot in a Republican conference meeting.
McCarthy told the press when asked about the concept, “Some members are talking.”
When Fox News asked if they were still discussing the idea, Jordan didn’t respond.
McCarthy’s own return to the race was reported by NBC News. It comes after nearly a month of inaction by Republicans to elect a new speaker, during which time three consecutive nominees were defeated due to intraparty rivalry.
It is not yet clear if the latest nominee, Republican Representative Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has a better shot than the others. Rep. Steve Scalise was the first nominee to fall victim to Jordan’s supporters. The supporters of both Scalise and McCarthy then worked to derail Jordan’s nomination. Former President Donald Trump went on the offensive against the nomination of Republican Minnesota Representative Tom Emmer.
On Wednesday at noon, the House will meet again to vote on Johnson’s bid for speaker.
Republicans are hoping that Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., the day’s second nominee for Speaker, will be able to win the House’s vote today around 1 p.m. ET.
The vote was held last night, and Johnson came out on top, defeating Donalds.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the GOP’s “matinee” nominee on Tuesday, had earlier defeated Johnson and Donalds, but he was eliminated from the race within four hours. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) was the nominee for roughly a week, and even House Majority Leader Steve Scalise lasted 30 hours.
At noon, Eastern Time, the House of Representatives will be open for business. Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will give nominating speeches after a quorum call is made to take attendance. After that, there will be a vote for Speaker of the House for the fourth time this month.
The roll call in the House will be read in alphabetical order by the clerks. Members will give verbal responses.
A simple majority of members casting a named vote is required for a victor. As a result, we won’t know the final tally until the polls close. If all 433 members vote for a specific person, Johnson only needs 217 yes votes. He can afford to lose as few as four supporters on his side and still win.
This is not a done deal, as only 204 Republicans voted in the GOP conference last night.
Rep. David Joyce will likely push for an immediate debate on his resolution to elect acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore if the House stumbles again. That would get things rolling again in the House.
The failure to elect Jordan outraged conservative lawmakers and pundits. But the Ohio Republican has remained a good sport about the Speaker race and vowed to help Republicans in any way that he can.
“Imagine how much healthier the Republican Party would be with Jim Jordan as Speaker, Rick Scott as Senate Minority Leader, and Harmeet Dhillon as RNC Chair,” Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote on the X platform.
“Instead the swamp knifes them all in the back. Pretty unbelievable how devoted the Republican establishment is to bombing foreign countries, keeping our border open, and spending us into oblivion. Sad!” he added.
“Welcome to the swamp, where Republican voters spend a week asking their Reps to vote Jim Jordan Speaker and 20 Republicans decide to vote against him for no articulate reason at all and then he gets dropped in a secret vote behind closed doors,” conservative influence Greg Price noted.
“Jim Jordan gave it his all. He was the best Speaker candidate to reform Congress’s spending addiction that’s been bankrupting our country,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote. “But sadly today the GOP conference met privately and ended his candidacy by a vote of 112 to 86. I would have voted 1000 rounds for Jim.”
“The Republican Party is non-existent. Time for an America First party. Railroading Jim Jordan was the final straw. If he could not secure Speaker of the House, no ‘America First’ rep can,” another user wrote.
