Rep. Jim Jordan backs plan to empower Patrick McHenry as House speaker

Rep. Jim Jordan has withdrawn from the race for House speaker, according to two reliable sources who spoke with CBS News. The anticipated vote for the House speaker position on Thursday will not occur, as Jordan has thrown his support behind empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry temporarily.

The move has left political analysts speculating about the level of support this unconventional plan to expand McHenry’s powers will receive, and intriguingly, some Democrats have also expressed their support for this idea. Jordan’s decision to back McHenry indicates his acknowledgment that securing the speaker’s gavel might be an elusive goal at this point, prompting him to explore alternative strategies.

Jordan had faced setbacks in his bid for the speaker’s position, failing to garner sufficient support in two previous ballots. Sources close to the matter revealed that Republicans were strategizing to stagger their votes against Jordan, creating a scenario where his support continued to erode.

Rep. Ken Buck, a fellow GOP member who opposed Jordan in both previous rounds, emphasized that Jordan could “bleed three or four votes” if additional rounds of voting were to take place. Buck stressed that more and more members were inclined to move on from supporting Jordan, having backed him in the initial votes.

The House now enters its third week without a clear leader, as the path forward for the Republicans remains uncertain. The decision to empower Patrick McHenry, albeit temporarily, adds a new layer of complexity to the ongoing leadership crisis in the House of Representatives.