Rudderless Republicans push U.S. Congress deeper into chaos

Republicans lurched further into disarray Thursday as their nominee to lead the US House of Representatives looked incapable of securing the gavel and a plan to install an interim speaker collapsed in angry recriminations and accusations of bullying.

President Joe Biden has announced plans to ask Congress this week for "unprecedented" aid to help Israel in its conflict with Hamas militants, understood to be part of a proposed $100 billion package that will include funding for Ukraine and Taiwan.

But lawmakers have been bogged down in bitter infighting that has already claimed the job of one speaker and has shut down the lower chamber of Congress for more than two weeks.

Jordan -- a Donald Trump loyalist heavily implicated in the former president's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election -- suffered humiliating defeats on the House floor in his first two bids for the gavel.

He had intended to pause his campaign and get behind plans to invest placeholder speaker Patrick McHenry -- who is currently limited to ceremonial duties -- with the full authority of the office until the end of the year.

But the defiant Ohio congressman told reporters Thursday afternoon he intended to fight on after a heated meeting in which multiple right-wing Republicans angrily shot down the plan, trading barbs with their more mainstream colleagues.

"We made the pitch to members on the resolution as a way to lower the temperature and get back to work," Jordan told reporters as the gathering ended.

"We decided that wasn't where we're going to go. I'm still running for speaker and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race."

Jordan's spokesman announced shortly before the House adjourned for the day that the congressman's next attempt would come on Friday morning.

The crisis has been playing out with US ally Israel in conflict with Hamas militants, Ukraine fending off a Russian invasion in its 21st month and the US government preparing to shut down in less than a month unless new funding is approved by Congress.

- 'Traditions and norms' -

Appointing McHenry as "speaker pro tem" would have been supported by moderates in both parties, allowing him to introduce measures providing aid to Israel and possibly Ukraine, as well as addressing the budget.

But the move would also have put the lower chamber in uncharted territory, and some analysts warn that any legislation approved by a House with no permanent leader could be subject to court challenges.

Several lawmakers called on Jordan to drop his speaker ambitions during angry exchanges, according to CNN.

Kevin McCarthy, whose removal as speaker sparked the crisis, shouted at chief mutineer Matt Gaetz to sit down when he went to the mic, while another lawmaker almost lunged at Gaetz, according to multiple media outlets.

Much of the Republican right has rejected empowering McHenry, including Chip Roy, a leading figure in the hard-line House Freedom Caucus who called it a "violation of tradition and norms."

And McHenry himself has made clear that he is against taking on more authority.

Jordan, 59, has spent his 16-year career in Congress blocking legislation rather than passing it -- he has never authored a bill that made it into law -- and dragging his party further to the right.

Mainstream House Republicans, many in vulnerable districts that voted for Biden in the last election, have chafed at the former champion wrestler's combative politics and complained about being intimidated by the candidate and his allies.

"When the pressure campaigns and attacks on fellow members ramped up, it became clear to me that the House Republican Conference does not need a bully as the speaker," said Georgia congressman Drew Ferguson, reporting that he had received death threats.

Iowa's Mariannette Miller-Meeks said in a statement she had "received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls."

"The proper authorities have been notified and my office is cooperating fully. One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully," she said.