GOP tries to blame Dems after Jordan loses more votes — but Republican warns “it’s gonna get worse”

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, lost his second bid for the role of House speaker on Wednesday, leaving the House without a leader after two weeks of prolonged bickering. “Jordan set a modern record: lowest vote tally for majority’s nominee to be speaker,” tweeted Washington Post congressional reporter Paul Kane, shortly after the loss was announced. “Just 199 Republicans voted for him on second ballot. No majority nominee has received less than 200 votes in a really long time. (McCarthy’s lowest tally was 200, a couple times in Jan.)”

Twenty-two Republicans voted against Jordan on Wednesday, two more than voted against him on Tuesday. “We picked up some today, a couple dropped off,” said Jordan after the vote, undeterred to remain in contention for the seat. “We’ll keep talking to members, keep working on it.” Jordan and his team have faced internal scrutiny from Republicans for embarking on a pressure campaign rife with bullying tactics, a strategy which seemingly worked against him by fomenting deep discontent. “I personally think, if we go to a third vote, it’s going to get a lot worse,” Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., told Politico. “Around three is probably going to be the final straw.” 

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., meanwhile, sought to blame Democrats for the Republican dysfunction. “There is no chance in the world that Democrats can say again that they put people before politics. They made a political decision to try to bring chaos to shut down a branch of government. And that’s wrong,” said McCarthy, who agreed to allow any single Republican member to force a vote to oust him in order to become speaker, which is exactly what happened just nine months later.