House GOP Reverses Course, Plans 3rd Jordan Speaker Vote After Tense Meeting

House Republicans say they will try a third time to elect Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as speaker, abandoning a plan to temporarily empower Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC) after many Republicans opposed it. 

GOP Tensions: The Republican caucus met for nearly four hours to consider their options in a reportedly tense meeting on Thursday. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) reportedly “screamed” at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to “sit your a** down.” McCarthy later denied yelling at Gaetz, saying, “I think the entire conference screamed at him… Listen, the whole country, I think, would scream at Matt Gaetz right now.” A source cited by the Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias) said Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL) “went ballistic” on Gaetz after the exchange with McCarthy. 

McHenry Alternative: Some House Democrats had considered backing the plan to temporarily empower McHenry, but Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reportedly decided to “wait and see” what offer, if any, Republicans made for a bipartisan deal. Across the aisle, several Republicans took a hard stance against empowering McHenry precisely because it would “empower Democrats,” with Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) calling it “the biggest F.U. to Republican voters.”

How the Media Covered It: Live coverage and sensationalism were common, particularly in outlets like HuffPost (Left bias). While most voices framed the situation negatively, some right-rated outlets highlighted voices opposing the McHenry plan. Echoing previous coverage framing opposition to Republican leadership as siding with Democrats, a Fox News (Right bias) homepage headline quoted conservatives labeling McHenry, a Republican, as a “Democrat-deal speaker.”