Republican Rep. Jim Jordan called on his party to “rally around” Rep. Kevin McCarthy who failed to receive a majority of the vote for House speaker on the first ballot.
Six GOP lawmakers voted for Jordan for House speaker, drawing some votes away from McCarthy.
Now, there is a second round of voting – and Jordan is a candidate after he was nominated by Rep. Matt Gaetz.
The 19 total Republicans who voted against McCarthy in the first ballot are considering all voting for Jordan on the second ballot, sources tell CNN.
“I think Kevin McCarthy is the right guy for us to lead us,” Jordan said, nominating McCarthy.
“I like his fight, I like his tenacity,” he added, saying, “We need to rally around him”
The Ohio lawmaker said the differences among Republicans “pale in comparison” to the differences the party has “between us and the left.”
“So we had better come together” and fight, he said, naming several GOP agenda items including legislative priorities and oversight.
Members can vote for anyone, and they can protest by skipping the vote or voting “present.” If enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop below 218.
CNN’s Annie Grayer, Melanie Zanona and Manu Raju contributed reporting to this post.
