WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Right-wing Republican Jim Jordan, chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, lost the third vote in his bid for the U.S. House speaker on Friday, as Republican opposition grows amid continuing chaos.
Jordan lost 25 votes from fellow Republicans on Friday, three more than in the second round of voting and five more than in the first round, indicating moderates' growing doubts about a hardline conservative House speaker.
With a slim 221-212 Republican majority in the chamber, Jordan could only afford to lose a few votes from Republicans in order to reach the majority threshold and win the gavel, considering that all Democrats voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The stalemate has prompted some lawmakers to push for the empowerment of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, in hope that he can oversee the passage of urgently needed legislation until House Republicans can coalesce and elect a new leader. In the third vote, several Republican defections voted for McHenry. ■