Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted as speaker two weeks ago, voted for the member of his party seeking to replace him, Rep. Jim Jordan, during a first round of floor voting Tuesday.
After McCarthy voted for Jordan, scattered applause broke out among GOP members inside the chamber.
Rep. Steve Scalise also voted for Jordan during the first call of the roll. Scalise was initially nominated for speaker by the Republicans after McCarthy’s ouster but bowed out when it became apparent that he didn’t have the votes to win.
Neither McCarthy nor Scalise are running for speaker at this moment however, several members of the GOP voted for each of them during Tuesday’s first round of voting.
Those votes — and others cast by Republicans for people other than Jordan — are currently preventing Jordan from winning the speakership. Jordan — or any other GOP speaker candidate — can only afford to lose three Republican votes if all Democrats are present.
During the vote, McCarthy sat behind Jordan. The pair spoke at one point as it became clear Jordan was not going to get the votes on the first ballot. Both kept their facial expressions pretty much neutral the whole time.