Top Republicans Plan Jim Jordan Alternative

Rep. Jim Jordan's failure to be elected House Speaker has reignited calls to expand the powers of Patrick McHenry, the speaker pro tempore.

The Ohio congressman's bid to succeed Kevin McCarthy stumbled on Tuesday after he lost the support of 20 Republicans, preventing him from reaching the 217 majority needed in the House vote.

Another ballot is scheduled for Wednesday, with no clear indication that Jordan will be able to persuade enough of the GOP defectors to back him. This could leave the lower chamber in deadlock for the foreseeable future, as it was when McCarthy needed 15 ballots to be elected to the post in January.

One potential alternative being touted by Republicans is to grant extended powers to McHenry—chosen by McCarthy as a temporary replacement until the position is filled—in order to allow the House to govern.

At present, McHenry's role is more ceremonial—he presides over the votes to elect a permanent speaker.

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, one of the six Republicans who voted for McCarthy rather than Jordan on Tuesday, is among those calling for McHenry's role to be expanded so he can pass legislation.

"Until we can find clear consensus among the Republican conference, it's time to give expanded authority to Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry so the House can resume governing," Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement.

She added that she would continue to support McCarthy, describing him as "the only member who's received anywhere close to the 217 votes needed."

Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida, who also backed McCarthy over Jordan, told reporters there are growing calls to grant McHenry further powers.

"If it's going to take us a while to get to a speaker, then yeah, we need to give Patrick McHenry some of those powers and allow the House to conduct its business. We don't want a government shutdown," Giménez said on Tuesday.

Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania—who voted for Steve Scalise on Tuesday though the House Majority Leader has withdrawn his bid—introduced a resolution on Monday to force a vote on expanding McHenry's powers so lawmakers can work on avoiding a government shutdown on November 17.

The idea is also supported by two Republicans who formerly served as speaker, Newt Gingrich and John Boehner.

"Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry is a lot better solution than gridlock and chaos. He should be empowered this week, and let's get on with the peoples' business," Gingrich wrote in his blog on Tuesday.

Boehner shared Gingrinch's comment on X, formerly Twitter, adding: "I agree."

Before Tuesday's House vote, Rep. María Elvira Salazar of Florida wrote in a letter signed by members of the moderate Republican Governance Group that the GOP should "walk and chew gum at the same time" by allowing McHenry to "reopen business" while they seek a permanent solution to the speaker issue.

Newsweek has contacted McHenry's office for comment via email.

It has been suggested that the North Carolina lawmaker, who has never put himself forward as a candidate for House Speaker, has no desire to take on the role full time.

"I've spoken with Patrick several times about this," Rep. Greg Murphy, also from North Carolina, told The Hill.

"And I asked him, does he want this? Does he want to do this? And [he] just said to me, 'Do you hate me that much?' So, he's been pretty consistent. He doesn't want it."

Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas, who backed Jordan on Tuesday, said he was "not necessarily opposed" to granting McHenry extended powers as it provides "some breathing room."

"Devil's in the details though—expanded to what powers? Kind of just makes him default speaker, so there's that," Crenshaw told Talking Points Memo. "For the sake of passing some just necessary work getting done, I'm not opposed to it, but we have a lot more details to work out there."

Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, who also voted for Jordan, has said he is "100 percent" against the idea of granting McHenry more powers. The GOP should not be "altering powers for a constitutionally vested office for convenience," he added.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who received more votes than Jordan in Tuesday's ballot (212, to Jordan's 200), said the GOP "are unable to function right now," and urged talks for an alternative plan to elect a House Speaker to "accelerate" between Republicans and Democrats.

Asked by reporters outside the Capitol if he would support expanding McHenry's powers, Jeffries said McHenry was "respected on our side of the aisle."

He added that there were "a whole host of Republicans who are respected on our side of the aisle," but Jordan was not one of them.

"Jim Jordan is a poster child for MAGA extremism," Jeffries said.