Jordan-backing Republican leaves country ahead of next speaker vote: 'There is no path'

Right as a third round of voting is in the works on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and his bid for speaker of the House, a key Republican lawmaker who has backed him throughout the process, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), is skipping town to go to Israel, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday.

“After retiring from the military in 2014, I made a solemn promise to the Jewish people that if anything like what took place on October 7, 2023 were to ever happen, that I would help them and their nation to the best of my ability," said Van Orden, a former Navy SEAL, in a statement obtained by the Journal Sentinel. "I am keeping that promise.”

He added that his presence for the Jordan vote is pointless anyway, because “Currently, as I write this piece, there is no path for a new Speaker, and Congress remains rudderless and in disarray. There is no sense of urgency to elect a Speaker despite the many challenges we face at home."

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Jordan, a right-wing firebrand who has taken the helm of House GOP investigations against Democrats and other perceived political enemies of the Freedom Caucus, was nominated after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), the first pick of the Republican caucus after the historic ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), withdrew.

But after two rounds of failed voting, Jordan doesn't appear close to winning over the required 217 Republicans, with some observers expecting even more Republicans will defect against him in a third round.

Van Orden, a freshman lawmaker elected in 2022, has been surrounded by controversy, from his presence at the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, to his vulgar outbursts against teenage congressional pages.