Republican Jim Jordan loses first US House speaker vote, plays for time

Republican Jim Jordan is trying to become the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, but he didn't get enough votes in the first try. So, he's taking some extra time to convince his fellow Republicans to support him.

This delay means that the House is still without a leader, which has been the case for a while now. Because of this, Congress can't make important decisions, like dealing with issues in the Middle East and Ukraine. They also have a looming deadline for a government shutdown in just a month.

Jim Jordan, who is a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump, got 200 votes in the first round of voting. That's not enough, and it's the lowest number any candidate has received in a long time. He's been talking to other Republicans to gain their support.

If Jordan does become the House leader, he'd be very powerful, just one step away from the presidency. But first, he needs to win over more of the 20 Republicans who didn't vote for him in the first round.

Some of those Republicans didn't like Jordan's stance on issues like benefits for survivors of the September 11 attacks, taxes, and disaster aid. Others didn't like how much pressure he was putting on them to vote for him.

There's also concern that Jordan hasn't accepted that Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. Jordan was involved in efforts to overturn the election results.

With Republicans holding a narrow majority in the House, they can't afford to lose too many votes. If Jordan can't get more support, other Republicans might step forward to try to become the House leader.

Democrats are critical of Jordan, calling him an extremist who would follow Trump's orders. They say he's spent his career holding the country back.

Jim Jordan is well-known in conservative media, and he's led efforts to investigate President Biden. He helped create a group in the House known as the Freedom Caucus, which has been involved in government shutdowns in the past.

Before he entered politics, Jordan was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University. Some former students accused him of ignoring sexual abuse by the team's doctor, but an investigation didn't find solid evidence that he knew about it.