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Jim Jordan will endorse Patrick McHenry as temporary Speaker of the US House of Representatives until January, as Republicans search for a solution to end weeks of chaos that have paralysed Congress and prevented lawmakers from underwriting more foreign aid for Israel and Ukraine.
Jordan, a congressman from Ohio and an ally of Donald Trump, was not abandoning his bid to become Speaker, said a person familiar with his thinking, and would “continue to run and try to shore up votes”, even as McHenry takes the gavel temporarily.
The move comes amid growing calls from Republican lawmakers to give McHenry, a congressman from North Carolina, more powers so that Congress can break the stalemate and consider important pieces of legislation. The White House is gearing up to ask lawmakers to approve a sweeping national security package that would include billions of dollars in additional foreign aid.
McHenry took up the role of Speaker pro tempore, or acting Speaker, after the Republican House rebellion that unseated Kevin McCarthy more than two weeks ago.
But the role only gives McHenry authority to oversee the election of a new Speaker. McHenry, who also chairs the powerful House financial services committee, has said several times that he does not want to be in the role permanently.
Any deal to empower McHenry would need to be approved by a simple majority of House members. House Democrats have not yet said if they would endorse such a move.
The impasse on Capitol Hill has exposed sharp divisions in the Republican party and laid bare the challenges of governing with a razor-thin majority at a time of deep polarisation in Washington.
Jordan is but the latest Republican lawmaker who has tried to coalesce support for his candidacy for Speaker and became the nominee last week after winning a secret ballot of GOP House lawmakers.
But the firebrand congressman has failed so far to convince enough members of his own party to support his candidacy in a floor vote. Because Republicans control the lower chamber of Congress by a narrow margin — and Democrats steadfastly voted for their own candidate — Jordan could not afford to lose more than a handful of votes from his own benches.
Twenty fellow Republicans voted against Jordan in an initial ballot earlier this week on the House floor. Jordan fared even worse in a second ballot on Wednesday when 22 Republicans voted against him.
Jordan’s Republican critics have taken issue with everything from the former wrestling coach’s pugilistic attitude to his steadfast support for Trump and refusal to acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 US presidential election.