Republicans fail to elect Jim Jordan as speaker. How did Fort Worth area lawmakers vote?
Republicans fell short of the 217 votes needed to elect Jim Jordan for House speaker Tuesday as 20 of their members, including two from the Fort Worth area, voted against him.
Jordan secured 200 votes in the first round of voting Tuesday afternoon and said he was planning for a second vote later in the day.
Rep. Kay Granger from Fort Worth and Rep. Jake Ellzey from Midlothian both voted against Jordan in favor of other Republicans.
Granger voted for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Ellzey voted for Rep. Mike Garcia from California.
Granger said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “the House needs to get back to work now” for a second vote on electing a new speaker.
Ellzey was not immediately available for comment.
Rep. Tony Gonzales from San Antonio also voted against Jordan in favor of Scalise.
Other area Republicans Michael Burgess of Denton County, Beth Van Duyne of Irving and Roger Williams of Willow Park voted for Jordan. Williams had been mentioned as a potential speaker option during a CNN interview with Rep. Tim Burchett.
Jordan, from Ohio, co-founded the House Freedom Caucus in 2015 and is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump. He defended Trump during both impeachment hearings and was part of promoting the conspiracy that the 2020 election was stolen.
