BOISE, Idaho — For the second straight vote, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) cast his support Wednesday for the next Speaker of the House toward Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisianna) in lieu of the majority party's frontrunner Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Jordan is a founding member of the Freedom Caucus alongside well-known Idaho politician, and current Idaho Attorney General, Raúl Labrador. Jordan failed twice to gain the necessary 217 votes to earn speakership by way of a divided Republican party. Jordan earned fewer votes in the second round of voting than he did in the first round.
"This is true for both Democrats and - I think - a lot of these more moderate Republicans, is Jordan's role around January 6 and protesting the certification of the 2020 election," Boise State University Political Science Professor Dr. Charles Hunt said. "Jordan was really central and a key ally of former President Trump at that time. And, you know, basically all Democrats and a number of Republicans have not forgiven Jordan for that."
Without a formally elected speaker, the House of Representatives is prevented from bringing up and voting on issues, according to Hunt. However, work needs to be done with a looming government could shutdown date, along with calls from the executive branch to appropriate financial support for Ukraine and Israel amid two separate wars.
A group of eight Republicans working in tandem with House Democrats outed former Speaker Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) Oct. 3. This is the first time in US history the House of Representatives voted to remove the Speaker of the House for their position.
"For these far-right Republicans, McCarthy wasn't conservative enough. And, you know, Democrats, they would rather have a Democrat as the speaker," Hunt said. "I'm not that surprised by that."
Simpson voiced his disappointment with the decision by posting on X - the app formally known as Twitter - the eight "so-called 'Republicans' … had no plan after their destructive vote."
Simpson later explained his support for Scalise in the same post. His decision is out of loyalty to a predetermined party-wide agreement that seemingly broke down before the first official vote.
"A number of Republicans feel [Scalise] was essentially railroaded. That he won this first - sort of - 'secret ballot vote' within their conference to be their nominee for speaker," Hunt said. "But then, essentially, they turned on him and decided to go with Jordan instead."
Scalise notably withdrew his name from the running and has even - alongside McCarthy - cast his official votes for Jordan. The Idaho GOP, led by party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon, released a statement expressing their disappointment in Simpson's decision not to vote for Jordan and support a candidate that is not actively seeking the position.
"Representative Simpson has served in congress for decades. Perhaps all this time away from Idaho has caused him to lose sight of the real work that Americans need on the important issues that impact them and their families,' the Idaho GOP said. "We urge our Congressman to reconsider his position and refocus his efforts on addressing the significant issues confronting our constituents — rather than waste his time engaging in protest votes and parliamentary delay tactics."
Moving forward, Hunt does not expect Jordan to become the speaker as momentum has moved away from him from the first to second vote. Even though House Republicans hold the majority, Hunt doesn't see a clear candidate that will win favor from both ends of their own party.
"If it can't be Kevin McCarthy, if it couldn't be Steve Scalise, and if it can't be Jim Jordan," Hunt said. "Then it's hard for me to imagine what Republican in the House actually exists who really could pull all of these folks together."
Votes on the margins, however, may not be necessary. The acting speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina), is gaining favor among the moderates.
"There are discussions happening right now, including among some moderate Democrats, to maybe join forces with the more moderate Republicans and give the current acting speaker, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, additional powers, at least for the next 50 or 60 days," Hunt said. "That is something that I could see happening as kind of a stopgap solution until Republicans are ready to choose a longer-term speaker."
Watch more Idaho politics:
See all of our latest political coverage in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.