BREAKING: Jim Jordan to back Patrick McHenry as interim House speaker, will not seek third vote

Ohio's Rep Jim Jordan will reportedly not go for a third vote on the House floor in an attempt to gain the speakership. Jordan, who lost two votes over two consecutive days, losing ground between the two votes, will reportedly throw his support behind Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry to be interim speaker.

McHenry has been in place since Matt Gaetz led a small handful of Republicans, and the entire Democrat caucus, to vote for the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. His concern was that McCarthy, who successfully kept any new funding for the war in Ukraine out of a 45-day stopgap spending bill to keep the government open, was allegedly making "side deals" to ensure new funding for that war.

Jordan emerged as an early favorite in the speaker race after Rep Steve Scalise withdrew his name from consideration. Jordan was backed by many in the America First wing of the GOP, but that support was not enough to win him votes among moderates, who are still smarting from the removal of McCarthy.

House Republicans have been meeting behind closed doors trying to get on the same page. 55 members of the House GOP, however, would not get behind Jordan in the first place, and more than 20 voted against him—twice.
 

House Democrats, however, had no problem keeping their caucus together and voted twice, fully in unison, for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn to become speaker. It's unclear if Democrats will go for McHenry, or if the Gaetz contingent will back him either.

The forming of a bipartisan coalition could prove dicey, as far-left progressives, who were happy to get McCarthy out of power and assist in the sowing of chaos in the House, may be less willing to go along this time. 

"I am waiting to see what the assurances are around power sharing," said Washington's Rep. Pramila Jayapal, chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, per the Washington Post. "What do we have to ensure what happens here reflects the fact that Dems are essentially governing this body?"

Since the House speaker's ouster, Israel was attacked by terrorist group Hamas, a war has broken out in the Middle East, President Joe Biden has promised even more spending for Ukraine, and the House has been unable to offer leadership for the Americans they represent.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.