Texas’ three GOP holdouts vote against Jim Jordan for third time

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

Three Texas Republicans continued to help block Jim Jordan’s bid for House speaker Friday, with the House at a standstill as Republicans struggled to unite behind the Ohio conservative.

U.S. Reps. Kay Granger of Fort Worth, Tony Gonzales of San Antonio and Jake Ellzey of Midlothian joined 22 other Republicans and all present Democrats voting against Jordan in the third attempt at electing a new speaker this week.

Granger and Gonzales continued to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the former GOP speaker nominee who dropped out from the running last week. Ellzey voted for Rep. Mike Garcia, R-California, his friend and fellow veteran.

Granger defended her support for former speaker nominee Scalise on Wednesday.

“This was a vote of conscience and I stayed true to my principles. Intimidation and threats will not change my position,” Granger said in a post on social media.

Ellzey said Wednesday he wouldn’t comment on the vote “until this thing is over.” Gonzales’ office did not respond to requests for comment.

All Democrats present, including 12 Texans, voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Jordan has lost support since the first round of voting on Monday when 20 Republicans voted against him.

All 25 Texas Republicans met Friday morning in a last-ditch effort to unite the conference, which is the largest Republican voting bloc of any state in the House.

Two Texans were absent for the Friday vote, Reps. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, who was attending a funeral.

With more votes potentially happening over the weekend, Republicans will be watching for absences as some members travel back to their home states. A speaker must win a majority of the votes of present members, which means if enough Republicans were absent, Democrats could win a majority.

If no votes are held over the weekend, the House will enter its third full week without a leader since a minority of Republicans worked to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3. The election drama comes as Congress must vote on aid for Israel and Ukraine. If the House cannot elect a speaker by mid-November, when federal funding runs out and appropriations cannot be passed, the government will shut down.