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Jim Jordan and his allies are working furiously to build support for his bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives ahead of a crucial vote scheduled for Tuesday that could end weeks of chaos on Capitol Hill that has threatened to stymie funding for Ukraine and Israel.
But the Ohio congressman faces an uphill battle as he tries to win over dozens of holdouts in his own party, including moderate Republicans who are reluctant to endorse the firebrand conservative and vocal ally of Donald Trump.
The chamber has now been without a Speaker for nearly two weeks, after the ousting of Kevin McCarthy earlier this month left the legislature unable to deal with big issues, including a looming federal government funding deadline, and providing more foreign aid for Israel and Ukraine.
Jordan, a founder of the rightwing House Freedom Caucus and central instigator of an impeachment inquiry into US president Joe Biden, has long been a polarising figure within the Republican party and in wider national politics.
His bid for Speaker has been bolstered by a pressure campaign by rightwing media personalities, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, and other hardline conservatives who are closely aligned to Trump, who has endorsed Jordan’s candidacy.
On Monday Jordan was pitching himself as a consensus candidate.
“The principles that unite us as Republicans are far greater than the disagreements that divide us. And the differences between us and our Democrat colleagues vastly outweigh our internal divisions,” he said in a letter to colleagues. “The country and our conference cannot afford us attacking each other right now.”
Under the US Constitution, the Speaker must be elected by a simple majority of the House. But Republicans have a majority of just nine votes in the 435-seat chamber, meaning that if all representatives vote Jordan cannot lose more than a handful of votes from his own benches.
Democrats have made clear that they have no interest in crossing the political aisle to support Jordan’s candidacy, with House Democratic majority leader Hakeem Jeffries calling the Ohio congressman an “extremist extraordinaire”.
Many Republicans, including Jordan supporters, have been openly sceptical of his ability to get all the votes he needs to be elected Speaker.
But there were signs on Monday that Jordan was building up support, especially amid concerns that the congressional paralysis was holding up more aid for Israel, a priority for many Republicans. The House cannot deal with any other business until it elects a Speaker.
Ken Calvert, a California Republican, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday that he had come round to supporting Jordan after talking to him about national security.
“Keeping America safe is my top priority in Congress,” Calvert said. “After having a conversation with Jim Jordan about how we must get the House back on a path to achieve our national security and appropriations goals, I will be supporting him for Speaker on the floor.”
Mike Rogers, the Republican chair of the House armed services committee who last week opposed Jordan’s candidacy, also said he was changing his mind. Rogers said he had spoken to Jordan twice in as many days, and they agreed on the need to pass a “strong” defence spending bill, among other priorities.
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