As US House remains in limbo, here’s how SC reps voted in chaotic contest for new speaker

All but one of South Carolina’s U.S. House representatives voted in unison supporting Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan as speaker of the House Tuesday, but their efforts failed.

Thirteen days after California Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as House speaker, the Republican House majority tried and failed elect an new leader.

South Carolina’s lone Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn voted with fellow Democrats for Rep. Hakeem Jefferies, D-NY, who received 212 votes. Jordanreceived 200 votes, short of the 217-vote majority needed to be elected speaker.

The other six South Carolina representatives, all Republicans, voted for Jordan.

The Palmetto State delegation split differently two weeks ago when a House majority voted to remove McCarthy, a move that left the chamber without a leader and unable to conduct any other legislative business until a new speaker is elected.

Rep. Nancy Mace was the lone South Carolina Republican and one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, generating audible gasps in the chamber. Clyburn voted, along with all House Democrats, to remove McCarthy. The other five South Carolina Republicans — Rep. Joe Wilson, Rep. Jeff Duncan, Rep. Russell Fry, Rep. Ralph Norman and Rep. William Timmons — voted to keep McCarthy in his position.

In order to successfully vote in a speaker of the House, a majority of all members who are present in the chamber must cast a vote for somebody by name. They could also vote “present.”

Tuesday afternoon, seven House members voted for Jordan’s competitor, Republican Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, while six members voted or McCarthyLee Zeldin, a former Republican representative from New York, received three votes. A smattering of other House members received a vote, as well.

After the vote, Duncan tweeted, “Don’t listen to detractors who want a weak Speaker. We need a fighter @JimJordan as Speaker who will do the work of the American people. ... I’m proud to support my fellow Freedom Caucus member, Jim Jordan. We are proud to be a ‘small subsection of the House’ known as the Freedom Caucus who stand on principles, limited government, and the Constitution.”

When McCarthy was elected speaker in January of this year, it took 15 rounds of voting to approve him. The House is working to elect a speaker as the clock ticks down toward the government shutdown deadline, Nov. 17, by which date Congress must pass a spending plan to keep the federal government functioning.

This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 2:40 PM.