Firebrand conservative Jim Jordan has fallen short in the first round of voting to become US House Speaker
The Republicans' slim majority over Democrats in the chamber means Jordan could only afford to lose four party members in a floor vote
But in the first round of voting some 20 Republicans voted against him, with several voting for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy
Jordan spent much of Tuesday trying to win over holdouts, before postponing a second vote until Wednesday morning
For two weeks the House has been unable to pass any bills, including aid for Ukraine and Israel
Hardline Republicans removed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month after he cut a deal with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill
We just had our first Republican vote against Jordan, from Nebraska's Don Bacon.
He voted for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy - in keeping with what he told reporters ahead of the vote.
So far no surprises. The reaction from the Republican side to Bacon's vote was muted.
The voting has started.
Earlier, a roll call vote confirmed that there are 432 House members present for the floor vote that will appoint the Speaker. That means two lawmakers are missing.
That's tough news for Jim Jordan.
Jordan can only lose three Republicans to get to the 217 votes he needs, instead of the four that was expected.
With the House speaking among themselves, let's check back in with what Pete Aguilar spoke about.
He says a vote for Jordan would be a vote for the "architect of a nationwide abortion ban", a "vocal election denier", and an “insurrection insider”.
He adds that making Jordan Speaker would be a "terrible message to the country and our allies” and “send an even more troubling message to our enemies”.
“We’re talking about someone who has spent his entire career trying to hold our country back, putting our national security in danger, attempting government shutdown after government shutdown,” he says.
Quoting former Republican House Speaker John Boehner, he says that even members of Jordan’s own party have called him a “legislative terrorist”.
There's been no further nominations.
So it will be a vote between Republican Jim Jordan and Democrat Hakeem Jeffries.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill
In his nomination of Hakeem Jeffries, California's Pete Aguilar is also rattling off a list of criticisms of Jim Jordan - many of which were accompanied by a loud chorus of "HE SAID NO" from Democrats.
Among the criticisms are a lack of legislative accomplishments, a lack of willingness to reach across the aisle and "extremism".
These have become common talking points from Democrats about Jordan, who is backed by former President Donald Trump.
As the Democrats chanted "he said no", Jordan appeared to be laser-focused and scowling, looking directly at Aguilar with his hands down at his sides.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill
The entire Democratic conference will be voting for one man once the vote begins: New York's Hakeem Jeffries.
He was just nominated by his Democratic colleague Pete Aguilar, who lambasted Republicans for nominating Jordan.
But he is not expected to get any further support despite reports that Republicans and Democrats could work together on a consensus pick. Some moderate Republicans, who have not fallen in line behind Jordan, said they'd rather vote for the Ohio congressman than support a Democrat.
That doesn't seem to bother Jeffries though. From where I'm sitting, I can see him having an animated - and, it seems, funny - conversation with his seat neighbour, Nancy Pelosi. The California Democrat served effectively as Speaker from 2007 to 2011 and 2019 to 2023.
Jeffries has been extremely critical of his Republican House colleagues in recent days, and I imagine we'll be hearing more of that today.
Jim Jordan is now being officially nominated as Speaker by Elisa Stefanik- and he got a loud, standing roar of applause from the Republicans on the House floor.
As the vast majority of his colleagues clapped, Jordan sat quietly and smiled at his colleagues.
Even some of his detractors - such as Florida's Mario Diaz-Balart - stood and clapped.
Predictably, there's been groans - and occasional laughs - from the Democrats on the other side of the aisle.
The House is now discussing the vote for a new Speaker.
Republican Elise Stefanik nominates Jim Jordan.
You can watch a live stream by clicking the play button at the top of this page.
Image source, EPARep. Patrick McHenry is currently serving as interim Speaker
If Jim Jordan fails to win over House Republicans, it's unclear whether anyone in the party can muster enough support to take office.
Last week, Rep Nicole Malliotakis said there were probably five of what she described as "Never Everybodys” within the party.
“That's the problem,” she added.
In the absence of any Republican candidate who can command a majority, some Democrats have started to warm to the idea of expanding the powers of interim Speaker Patrick McHenry.
The powers of the Speaker pro tempore are broadly untested, but most agree that McHenry has only limited scope and cannot call votes on legislation. That includes any effort to extend the agreement that averted a government shutdown.
Four moderate Democrats, led by Rep Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, have proposed expanding the powers of the office.
“The government cannot continue to be hamstrung — leaving American families, our economy, & national security at risk,” Rep Gottheimer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
“We need to temporarily expand the Speaker Pro Tempore's authorities to open the government for our families & help Israel & Ukraine.”
The vote is about half an hour away so let's take a quick look at the maths.
Republicans have a thin majority in the House, holding 221 seats to the Democrats’ 212.
That means Jordan can only afford to lose four Republican votes and needs a total of 217 votes to win the Speakership.
Kevin McCarthy needed 218 votes in January, after the death of former Democratic Congressman Donald McEachin in November 2022 left an unfilled vacancy.
There are currently two vacancies: Rhode Island's 1st congressional district and Utah's 2nd congressional district, caused by the resignations of Democrat David Cicilline and Republican Chris Stewart.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
BBC News, on Capitol Hill
I've just caught sight of Jim Jordan, the man who hopes to become House Speaker by day's end.
He's dressed in a jacket, which is unusual. The Ohio congressman typically keeps to a simple shirt and tie look.
Jordan is working the floor right now, shaking hands with other Republican lawmakers. He appears relaxed at first glance, even if he may not have the votes he needs to get the job.
Over the last two days, he's been telling reporters that he believes he can ultimately be successful.
We'll see whether he's correct and how many votes it might take to get to a conclusion.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill
Fourteen days after his ouster as House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy's name still adorns a plaque outside the office that Jim Jordan now wants.
The tour guides and members of the public passing by seem to be having a bit of fun with the ongoing chaos on Capitol Hill.
"At this point I might as well run also," I heard a man telling his puzzled looking daughter.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill
I've just stepped out into the press gallery, where I have a front-row seat to watch all the members of the House of Representatives.
In some respects, the mood is surprisingly light-hearted given that the chamber has been unable to function properly for nearly 14 days.
Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin, for example, is laughing loudly at something as he looks down at his phone and chats with some of the other Democratic lawmakers sitting and standing nearby.
Rather more serious looking is Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, the man largely responsible for Kevin McCarthy's ousting as Speaker two weeks ago.
He is seated near the centre of the chamber with his hands folded and a serious expression on his face. He's glanced over at some of the other Republicans lawmakers a few times, occasionally exchanging short pleasantries with those who stop to chat.
Donald Trump told reporters that Jordan "will be a great Speaker" while taking a break from a civil fraud trial that has ensnared his real estate empire.
The former president praised Jordan as "a fantastic young man" and said he was certain that Republicans would unify behind his Speaker candidacy. He noted that multiple Republican members of the House had decided to back Jordan in the past 24 hours.
The vote is expected to come this afternoon, but Trump suggested that it could be held "over the next day or two" if necessary. It is unclear how involved the former president is in the negotiations, however.
The House of Representatives has gathered and will run through some housekeeping matters first before a vote is held.
We are expecting the vote for Speaker to start at 13:00 local time (18:00 BST).
You can watch a live stream by clicking the play button at the top of this page.
Jordan 'hopes' to be Speaker by the end of the day
We've just seen a briskly walking Jim Jordan at Capitol Hill, where he was asked by the media if he will be Speaker by the end of the day.
He replied: "I hope so".
Jordan said we would soon find out if he had the votes.
You can watch the interaction in the video above.
Jim Jordan: Three things to know about the conservative firebrand
Despite winning Friday’s vote to be the next Speaker nominee, a second closed-door vote indicated that 55 House Republicans could oppose Jordan when lawmakers vote on the floor.
That would be more than enough to sink his candidacy.
Jordan spent the weekend speaking to holdouts, trying to win as many over to his cause as possible. He now plans to hold an open vote on the floor of the chamber and force his opponents to make themselves known.
On Monday he told reporters that he felt “good about where we’re at” going into the Speaker's vote, after picking up the endorsement of Rep Mike Rogers, who serves as chairman of the influential House Armed Services Committee.
But Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House, and Jordan can only afford to lose four votes if he is to take office.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill
As one can imagine, there's enormous media interest in the Speaker's race.
I'm currently in an upstairs press room waiting to get into the viewing gallery.
There's not enough room for everyone, so only those who get here early enough to get a ticket will be able to see the vote.
It's a jovial scene. We are being reminded that there are no pictures, even "selfies of this historic moment".
Analyst: 'Republican implosion is an understatement'
Jim Jordan can only afford to lose the support of four House Republicans if he is going to win the vote to become Speaker. At present, more than that are refusing to back him. They include:
Those thought to still be undecided or to be leaning away from Jordan include Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Juan Ciscomani, Andrew Garbarino, David Joyce, Jen Kiggans, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Blake Moore, and Steve Womack.