House Republicans nominate Jim Jordan to be the next House speaker

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For the second time this week, fractured Republicans have picked their nominee for speaker of the House.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, defeated Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., in Friday’s closed-door, secret-ballot speaker contest.

Republicans could hold a floor vote on Jordan’s nomination as soon as Friday, though there is no guarantee he can secure the 217 votes needed to win the speakership.

It was Jordan’s second bid for speaker just this week. On Wednesday, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., narrowly beat Jordan for the nomination, but Scalise dropped out a day later after failing to lock up enough support.

Jordan, a Donald Trump loyalist who has burnished a reputation on the Hill as a conservative bomb-thrower, could still meet the same fate as Scalise: winning the party’s nomination but not the speaker’s gavel.