Jim Jordan Mocked in Ohio Newspaper Cartoon Series After Failed Speaker Bid

After Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, failed to secure, for the third time, the 217 votes needed to become the next House speaker, an Ohio newspaper published a cartoon series on Friday mocking the congressman's efforts.

Jordan has been seeking to become the next House speaker since Representative Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, was ousted from his speakership role in a historic 216-210 vote on October 3 after Representative Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican, spearheaded an effort to remove him. Jordan fell short of the required votes to become the next speaker after three rounds of voting this past week. His loss followed a heated week on Capitol Hill as he and his allies attempted to persuade fellow GOP representatives to back him as speaker. However, his efforts were unsuccessful when 25 of his fellow party members voted against his bid on Friday, bringing his campaign to a bitter close.

After his loss, The Columbus Dispatch, the Buckeye State's second-largest newspaper, published a cartoon series featuring the Ohio congressman. The cartoons were published as part of an opinion column by opinion and community engagement editor, Amelia Robinson, titled, "Jim Jordan didn't have to tap out of House speaker's bid. Thankfully his party did it for him."

"Jordan is not done. We shall see what shenanigans he gets into next. In the meantime, here are 5 more cartoons about Jim Jordan's attempt to be speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives," Robinson wrote.

Newsweek has reached out to Jordan via email for further comment.

The cartoons showed Jordan in a variety of situations, such as being squashed by an elephant wearing a wrestling uniform with the words, "WTF Wrestling Presents Jim Jordan For Speaker of the House."

In another cartoon, Jordan can be seen holding a gasoline can and a match while saying," How could you not want me to be your fire chief?"

While the cartoons continue to show Jordan vying for the speakership, the opinion column seemingly points towards disarray within the Republican Party.

"In the end, U.S. Rep Jim Jordan did not tap out of his race to be U.S. House speaker. His party pinned him to the mat," Robinson wrote.

Despite Jordan's loss, the issue of finding a new speaker remains and is quickly becoming more pressing, as without an elected speaker, the House is rendered unable to work effectively. The need for a speaker also comes at a time when Congress faces the looming possibility of a government shutdown next month.

"We need to come together and figure out who our speaker is going to be. I'm going to work as hard as I can to help that individual so that we can go and help the American people," Jordan told reporters after his Friday loss.

Meanwhile, GOP Representatives Austin Scott of Georgia, Jack Bergman of Michigan, Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, and Pete Sessions of Texas, among others, have all announced their intentions to run for speaker.

Republicans will convene on Monday evening for a candidate forum, followed by a conference vote that could happen on Tuesday.

In addition, Democrats have remained united behind Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York as he received 212 votes to become House speaker in the first round.