The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. October 18, 2023 Jim Jordan Fails in First Vote to Become House Speaker ------------------------------------------------------ Far-right Ohio Congressmember Jim Jordan failed Tuesday to reach the 217-vote threshold needed to become the next House speaker. Twenty of his fellow Republicans voted against him. All 212 Democrats voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Jim Jordan is a close Trump ally and was involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Congressmembers are voting again today. The House has been without a speaker for two weeks, following the ouster of Kevin Mc Carthy. Meanwhile, a bipartisan move to empower Speaker Pro Tem Patrick Mc Henry to oversee legislative business is being discussed as a way out of the current quagmire. .