Republicans are heading to the House Tuesday for the second time this Congress to try and elect a speaker, marking what they hope will be a unifying moment for a party that has been in turmoil for weeks.
GOP lawmakers are expected to rally their votes behind Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be the next speaker despite reluctance from some who are wary of his hardline approach. Conservatives have been mounting an intense pressure campaign to persuade the final holdouts to support him.
Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, won the GOP’s nomination for speaker in a secret ballot on Friday. But a second round of voting showed that more than 50 Republicans would oppose Jordan on the floor, leaving him well short of the 217 votes needed to win the gavel.
Here’s what to know going into the speaker’s election:
WHEN IS THE SPEAKER ELECTION? AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
The House is expected to gavel into session Tuesday at noon to hold what could be the first of several votes to elect a speaker. It’s a speaker’s election unlike any other following the removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was suddenly and unexpectedly ousted from the post after just nine months on the job.
The speaker is normally elected every two years, in January, when the House organizes for a new session. A new election can only be held if the speaker dies, resigns or is removed from office.
HOW MANY VOTES DOES IT TAKE TO ELECT A SPEAKER?
It takes a majority of the votes from House members who are present and voting.
Once the roll call for speaker begins, members of the House are called on one by one to call out their choices. The House, which currently has 433 members and two vacancies, will vote as many times as necessary until someone wins.
It’s uncertain how many rounds it might take for Jordan to clinch the gavel, but his supporters are confident that the public floor vote will force the remaining holdouts to flip their way. McCarthy narrowly won the speakership in January on the 15th round of balloting, after five excruciating days.
