Firebrand Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for speaker will be put to the test on the House floor Tuesday in a dramatic vote that could end weeks of chaos in Congress.

The Republicans have been embroiled in a civil war since Kevin McCarthy became the first speaker in history to be ousted by colleagues when eight rebel GOP members voted to remove him.

Congress has been paralyzed for two weeks, unable to conduct any business and with a month until the government runs out of money again.

Jordan has emerged as the favorite after Rep. Steve Scalise suddenly dropped out last Thursday, but at least six members of his party have promised they will still reject his bid when the House votes at noon on Tuesday. 

Some have said they will vote for Kevin McCarthy again, and a few others have not said either way. Jordan can only afford to lose around four Republican votes to get to a 217 majority. 

Jordan and his allies spent the weekend making calls trying to whittle down the 55 members who said in a secret conference ballot last week that they would not vote for him after he won the nomination

Jordan and his allies spent the weekend making calls trying to whittle down the 55 members who said in a secret conference ballot last week that they would not vote for him after he won the nomination. 

By putting holdouts on record on the floor, Jordan risks an embarrassing loss to put his detractors on record. 

But by opposing Jordan publicly, the holdouts run the chance of a conservative primary challenger, given the Judiciary chairman’s popularity with the grassroots. 

‘If folks think that they can pressure me, that’s where they lose me,’ said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who insisted he would not vote for Jordan. 

Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, said he wanted to have more ‘conversations’ with Jordan but is concerned that Jordan won’t tell him Donald Trump did not win the 2020 election. 

‘If he’s going to lead this conference during a presidential election cycle … he’s going to have to be strong and say Donald Trump didn’t win the election, and we need to move forward.’ 

On Friday the firebrand Ohio Republican became the GOP conference’s nominee, defeating Georgia Rep. Austin Scott in a 124-88 vote. Scott had jumped into the race at the last moment as moderates had little appetite for a Speaker Jordan. 

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Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, said he wanted to have more ‘conversations’ with Jordan but is concerned that Jordan won’t tell him Donald Trump did not win the 2020 election

‘If folks think that they can pressure me, that’s where they lose me,’ said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who insisted he would not vote for Jordan

Then in a second secret ballot, Republicans were asked ‘Would you vote for Jordan on the floor?’ Fifty-five Republicans said they would not do so. 

Jordan’s nomination for the speakership comes after Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the House’s Number Two Republican, dropped out of the running after receiving the nomination 24 hours earlier.

Scalise, like McCarthy before him, had faced insurmountable opposition from the right wing of the conference. 

Though Jordan had opposition from moderates and pragmatists, they were more likely to hold their nose and vote for him to get back to House business than some right-wing Scalise opposers were.  

Jordan has emerged as the favorite after Rep. Steve Scalise suddenly dropped out last Thursday , but at least six members of his party have promised they will still reject his bid when the House votes at noon on Tuesday 

Florida GOP Reps. Carlos Gimenez and John Rutherford both still insist they will vote for Kevin McCarthy after he was ousted weeks ago – as does Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.

While the House has been in turmoil its larger battles have been on hold – one month from Tuesday government funding will run out again. House Republicans had hoped to pass 12 single-subject government funding bills by then, but it’s nearly guaranteed they’ll need another continuing resolution (CR) to punt the funding deadline down the road. 

McCarthy put a CR on the floor, prompting the bid to remove him.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., had long promised to put a motion to vacate on the floor if McCarthy extended government funding at 2023 levels rather than pushing through 12 separate bills. 

Even if the House can pass all its appropriations bills, then it has to work with the Senate to get spending legislation through the Democrat-led upper chamber. Jordan is not known for his ability to work across the aisle – another factor that could be drawing skepticism from moderates. 

The outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas has also added pressure as Congress must decide whether to offer more defense aid to Israel – and deal with whether to offer Ukraine more aid in its fight against Russia.