House Republicans’ failure to coalesce around a speaker has not only exposed their deep ideological divisions but also their inability to govern as the majority party. Since eight Republicans voted to oust McCarthy as speaker last week, the House has remained in a complete standstill. It cannot consider any legislation to aid Israel in its war against Hamas — something many lawmakers in both parties want — nor pass any appropriations bills to avoid a potential government shutdown in mid-November until a speaker is elected.
...
Democrats have asked for 24 hours’ notice before any vote, but Republicans are not inclined to give it to them.
I don't know why they would not do that.
... multiple aides and lawmakers say Jordan can’t get 217 Republican votes, either. His refusal to wholeheartedly back Scalise, rally his supporters behind him and accept the speaker election results has created a significant group of never-Jordan Republicans.
There are never-Jordan R's, never-Scalise R's, never-Kevin R's, nevers in every race color and creed except...never-Trump R's.
...
Several Republicans sense that Scalise will not give up the fight...Whether Scalise will step aside remains unclear, but hours ticking by with a shuttered House floor...
...
“In Washington, D.C., you make false friends and true enemies,” one House Republican said. “And Steve Scalise has made way too many of both.”
...
“Jordan doesn’t have a path, either,” one Republican lawmaker said.
...
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who changed her mind about supporting Scalise, suggested Thursday that there was a group of lawmakers who would back whomever Trump said they should for speaker.
Concerns about both Scalise’s and Jordan’s past controversies are starting to surface, too. Several swing-district Republicans have expressed renewed concern after becoming aware that Scalise spoke at a White supremacist rally in 2002 while serving as a state representative in Louisiana. When his attendance received attention in national news over a decade later, a Scalise adviser confirmed he spoke at an event founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, but said that he denied knowing that the event was affiliated with racists and neo-Nazis.
Jordan has been accused by several Ohio State wrestlers of knowing about sexual abuse allegations against the team’s doctor when he was a coach but doing nothing about it. An Ohio State independent investigation into the abuse did not make “conclusive determinations” about whether particular employees knew about the abuse by Richard Strauss, but a report issued later in 2019 said coaches did know.
Both Jordan and Scalise also voted against certifying the 2020 election of Joe Biden after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, but Republicans have not brought that up as a point of concern.😂
Many other moderate Republicans have expressed similar concerns over Scalise’s past, but they have not done the same with Jordan.
...
Rep. Kevin Hern is also mulling a bid for speaker if Scalise or Jordan cannot get the 217 votes needed to win. He spent last week making his pitch to colleagues and cited his business experience — he has operated 18 McDonald’s franchises in addition to other ventures...😂
