For the second straight day, House lawmakers gathered to try and pick a speaker — and once again, Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative firebrand endorsed by former President Donald Trump, fell short of the number needed to secure the speaker’s gavel.

Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, needed to secure 217 votes; he only garnered 199, one less vote than he received Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the conservative firebrand endorsed by former President Donald Trump, once again fell short of the number needed to become Speaker of the House; he garnered 199 votes on Wednesday, one less than he received on Tuesday

  • House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., once again emerged on top with 212 votes, followed by 199 for Jordan and a smattering for McCarthy, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and others

  • Just two Jordan holdouts from Tuesday — California Rep. Doug LaMalfa and Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz — flipped to support the Ohio Republican
  • With the House leaderless and paralyzed for 15 days and counting, the path forward to break the logjam is still not clear

With the House leaderless and paralyzed for 15 days and counting, the path forward to break the logjam is still not clear. Lawmakers could try and come together on a different Republican candidate that can win over their narrow majority, or perhaps try to chart a new path forward out of the chaos — either by empowering temporary Speaker Patrick McHenry or finding a bipartisan compromise candidate.

A source told Spectrum News that Ohio Rep. Dave Joyce would likely move to try and empower McHenry after Jordan fell short in the second vote.

The House quickly recessed on Wednesday after the vote. Speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon, Jordan said that he would stay in the race, but did not anticipate another vote taking place until Thursday.

Just like Tuesday’s vote, Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon — who told POLITICO that his wife received anonymous emails and text messages pressuring him to support Jordan — was the first Republican defection against the Ohio Republican, voting again for recently ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, who voted for Jordan on Tuesday, became the first to walk back his support from the day prior, choosing fellow Sunshine State Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., instead. Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Minnesota Rep. Pete Stauber and Georgia Rep. Drew Ferguson also flipped from supporting Jordan on Tuesday, backing other candidates.

Just two Jordan holdouts from Tuesday — California Rep. Doug LaMalfa and Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz — flipped to support the Ohio Republican.

All told, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., once again emerged on top with 212 votes, followed by 199 for Jordan and a smattering for McCarthy, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and others.  Even former House Speaker John Boehner received a vote on Wednesday, courtesy of Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly.

Twenty-two Republicans voted against Jordan on Wednesday compared to 20 on Tuesday; one lawmaker who was absent on Tuesday, Florida Rep. Gus Bilirakis, supported Jordan.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole, who nominated Jordan, called the Ohio Republican “a person of absolute personal integrity” and “an honorable man,” saying that it “takes a spine of steel” to do the job of House speaker.

“My friend has that kind of determination, has that kind of character, has that kind of spine and I think the next speaker is going to need that quality, and I know my friend has in great abundance,” Cole said. “Now if you're Republican, it ought to be a pretty easy decision.”

Cole said that the country is in “a moment of crisis” and called on lawmakers to “come together and act — and we know we can't do that without Speaker the House.”

“We have a candidate who we know where he will stand on issues are important,” he continued, adding: “We need to be able to act. My friend [Jordan] will act on that crisis.”

Cole said that Republicans "have a chance today to end that chaos, end that uncertainty" which began two weeks ago with McCarthy's historic ouster.

Democrats agreed that it was time for the chaos to come to an end – though they have different ideas about how to end it.

“The country can’t afford more delays and more chaos,” said California Rep. Pete Aguilar in his speech nominating Jeffries for a second straight day. “Fifteen days should be enough.”

Aguilar, the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, took numerous swipes at Jordan in his speech, including a reference to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

“One thing was very clear yesterday: The vote total, 212-200. The People’s House has spoken and Leader Jeffries has the support to be speaker that this country needs; 212-200, no amount of election denying is going to take away from those vote totals.”

Another prominent Democrat also poked fun at Jordan's predicament: President Joe Biden, who when asked if he had a view about the Ohio Republican's situation, jokingly said, "I ache for him."

"No," Biden said afterwards. "Zero, none."