Why it matters: The failure of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to win on the House floor on Tuesday has many Republicans worried that nobody can obtain 217 votes from their side of the aisle.
Driving the news: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters on Tuesday that there are “informal conversations that have accelerated over the last few days.”
- “My hope, now that it’s clear Jim Jordan lacks the vote to be speaker, is that those conversations will accelerate this evening,” Jeffries said.
- The Democratic leader added that “high-level members on the Democratic side of the aisle are ready, willing and able to have those conversations.”
Zoom in: All eyes are on Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.). He views his role as constrained to electing a new speaker, but centrists in both parties have pushed to empower him to oversee legislative business.