Republicans Reject Jim Jordan for Speakership, Humiliating Trump

Gage Skidmore | Flickr.com

After a two-day deliberation, House Republicans voted to nominate Congressman Steve Scalise to the Speakership, rejecting the Donald Trump-endorsed Jim Jordan in a 113-99 vote.

In a more rational conference, this might prompt MAGA Republicans up for reelection in 2024 to carefully reconsider the value of Trump’s endorsement—which was already under suspicion after Trump-endorsed candidates underperformed in the 2022 midterms (when controlled for incumbency or unchallenged candidacy).

Furthermore, this development might trigger introspection in a more rational political leader—What does it say that my full-throated endorsement for such an important position seems inadequate? Should I change?—but history has proven that Donald Trump is psychologically incapable of the humility needed for such an enterprise.

Scalise, who was until recently Kevin McCarthy’s estranged lieutenant, certainly seems less deranged than Jim Jordan, but that’s a relatively low bar.

He objected to President Biden’s 2020 victory, has indulged in the right wing habit of tarring Democrats as socialist, and the jury’s still out as to whether Scalise is strong enough to mitigate the Freedom Caucus and work bipartisanly with Democrats. It’s also unclear if he has the necessary votes to win the Speakership on the floor, as 199 Republican votes aren’t enough to defeat the massed ranks of the House Democrats.

But given that Matt Gaetz has publicly said he will vote for Scalise, we shouldn’t rule it out.