WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Hardline conservative Jim Jordan will suspend his bid to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and back Republican Patrick McHenry to fill the role on a temporary basis, media outlets reported on Thursday.
The House has been without a leader for more than two weeks, and Jordan has twice failed to secure the 217 votes needed to claim the speaker’s gavel as he has faced opposition from Democrats and more than 20 of his fellow Republicans.
Jordan declined to comment as he entered a closed-door meeting with other Republicans.
The Washington Post and Punchbowl reported that Jordan will not seek a third vote to win the post and instead will back a plan to empower McHenry to hold the post until January, the outlets reported. McHenry is currently serving as acting speaker.
That option, which Democrats have also said they might support, would allow lawmakers to get back to work. Democratic President Joe Biden is expected to ask Congress this week to approve as much as $60 billion for Ukraine and $10 billion for Israel, and funding for U.S. government operations is also due to expire in less than a month.
The prolonged leadership battle has laid bare divisions among Republicans who control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 margin. Investors say the turmoil on Capitol Hill is also contributing to market volatility.
A small group of Republicans ousted McCarthy from the speaker’s chair on Oct. 3, and the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, Steve Scalise, dropped his leadership bid last week after he was unable to line up the 217 votes.
(Reporting by David Morgan, Moira Warburton and Makini Brice, additional reporting by Katharine Jackson and Davide Barbusca, writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Grant McCool and Nick Zieminski)
