All Republicans House members are present for the Speaker election this morning, which means that Jim Jordan will need 217 votes to secure the post.

Jordan can only afford to lose four Republican votes on this ballot.

He lost 20 yesterday.

A complicating factor for Republicans is their razor-thin margin over Democrats in the House. Any defection is a significant complication.

Democrats have 212 members in the House, but they have remained a consistent voting bloc behind their leader, Hakeem Jeffries. It appears they will have one non-voting member, Rep Donald Payne, Jr, for today's vote.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

One man who appears, at least to me, to be particularly at ease today is Kevin McCarthy, the man whose ouster as Speaker 15 days ago brought us to this point.

From where I'm sitting in the gallery, I can see him sitting and smiling near an aisle, with a small huddle of lawmakers.

He occasionally gestures towards the other side of the room, where most of the Democrats have already taken their seat.

As a reminder, McCarthy is backing Jim Jordan.

But McCarthy also received a handful of votes from his colleagues yesterday.

Meanwhile, Jordan is speaking to Patrick McHenry, whom some Republicans have suggested could be empowered as interim Speaker for a short time to allow government to function.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Jim Jordan has entered the floor - and he's now chatting with Andrew Garbarino, one of the New York Republicans who voted against him yesterday.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, House TV

From where I am sitting in the House - overlooking all 435 members of the House - it appears that there is quite a bit of last-minute lobbying and discussion among the Republicans.

Representative French Hill - a Jordan supporter - was just speaking to Nebraska's Don Bacon and Pennsylvania's Mike Kelly, both of whom voted against him yesterday.

Other Republicans are huddled in small groups around the room. One group of five or so lawmakers are currently listening to what appears to be an animated discussion being led by Texas' Chip Roy, another Jordan supporter.

On the Democrats' side, things appear to be slightly more relaxed.

Image source, Getty Images

While we wait for the House to take attendance, let's look at one possible outcome if Jordan does not get the votes today.

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, appeared to back the suggestion that interim Speaker Patrick McHenry's powers could be expanded.

A number of anti-Jordan Republicans have called for McHenry, who was tapped by outgoing Speaker Kevin McCarthy to serve as interim leader, to be given the ability to move legislation in absence of an elected Speaker.

Speaking outside the Capitol on Tuesday, Jeffries appeared to be warming to the proposal.

“All options are on the table to end the Republican civil war," he told reporters.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Before Jim Jordan entered the House, he stopped briefly to address the gaggle of reporters gathered in the hall. A reporter asked how this is all going to end. “I think it’s gonna end with hopefully a Republican speaker,” Jordan replied.

After a short delay, lawmakers have now gathered, and we are hearing a prayer from the House Chaplain.

Soon, we expect voting to get underway.

You can watch a live stream by clicking the play button at the top of this page.

Image source, Getty Images

A top ally of Jim Jordan's has hinted that the Speaker nominee will lose several votes in the second ballot today.

Rep Scott Perry, who chairs the far right House Freedom Caucus - which Jordan co-founded in 2015 - made the comments in an early morning post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Just so there’s no surprises: Jordan will likely have FEWER votes today than yesterday — as I expected," Perry wrote.

"This is the fight - which Jim Jordan represents - to end the status quo, and it ain’t easy… Stay strong and keep praying."

US media has reported that as many as 10 Republicans who voted for the Ohio congressman in the first round could defect this morning.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Florida Republican congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, who voted "no" yesterday on Jim Jordan, just spoke to reporters inside the Capitol.

His stance on the Ohio congressman appears unmoved.

Asked if Jordan has any new backers, Diaz-Balart said: "I think it gets more difficult for him".

He said it's "pretty clear" that Jordan "will not be able to get the Republican votes to become Speaker".

Diaz-Balart added that the strategy of "intimidation" which may be developing behind closed doors as far-right House members grow desperate was not going to move support.

"It doesn't work, never has," Diaz-Balart said.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I've just stepped into the chamber of the House of Representatives - where lawmakers are starting to slowly trickle in ahead of today's vote.

There are still only a few people here. Most notable is Jim Jordan supporter Matt Gaetz, who is working the Republican side of the room, shaking hands and smiling.

At 11:00 local time (16:00), we expect they'll start with the customary prayer and pledge of allegiance, and then take attendance.

After that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we'll jump right into the vote and see if Jim Jordan succeeds a second time around.

What will the vote reveal?published at 15:55 British Summer Time 18 October 2023

15:55 BST 18 October 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

Jim Jordan is pressing ahead with his bid to be the next speaker of the House, with a second round of ballot scheduled to take place within the hour.

How that vote plays out will go a long way toward determining the Ohio Republican’s fate.

If Jordan has been able to convince some of the 20 Republicans who opposed him in the first vote to fall in line, while not bleeding support in other quarters, his campaign will get a fresh breath of life – and a bit more space and time to continue to convince the holdouts to back down.

If, however, a second vote reveals opposition to Jordan has grown, as some of his Republican critics have suggested will happen, pressure will mount for him to stand aside and let the party look for other options.

Jordan prides himself on never shying away from a fight, particularly against what he views as the establishment forces within his own party. At some point, however, he may have to acknowledge political reality.

And that moment may be at hand.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I'm here at the Capitol in a long echo-y hallway just beneath the House floor where US lawmakers are soon to gather to cast their votes for House Speaker - again.

The Hill is quieter at-large today because of increased security ahead of anticipated Israel-Hamas war protests in Washington DC.

There's a huddle of reporters gathered around the door of Majority Whip Tom Emmer's office, though a noticeably smaller bunch than the 40-50 that crowded around the door yesterday.

It's been the go-to stop for Jim Jordan and other extreme-right-leaning House Republicans - like Elise Stefanik - as they try to push Jordan past an increasingly large hill of opposition.

Expect things to pick up as the day goes on.

There were 20 Republican defectors in Jim Jordan's failed bid for the Speakership yesterday. We'll be keeping an eye on how they vote today to see what chance the Ohio lawmaker has at grabbing the top post.

So far, it appears only Rep Doug LaMalfa of California has said that he will change his vote to back Jordan's bid. There are rumors on Capitol Hill, however that there could be further defections.

Here is the full list of representatives who voted "no" on the first ballot and who they supported instead:

1. Don Bacon of Nebraska voted for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
2. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon voted for McCarthy
3. Anthony D’Esposito of New York voted for former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York
4. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida voted for Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana
5. Jake Ellzey of Texas voted for Rep. Mike Garcia of California
6. Andrew Garbarino of New York voted for Zeldin
7. Carlos Gimenez of Florida voted for McCarthy
8. Tony Gonzales of Texas voted for Scalise
9. Kay Granger of Texas voted for Scalise
10. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania voted for Scalise
11. Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia voted for McCarthy
12. Nick LaLota of New York voted for Zeldin
13. Mike Lawler of New York voted for McCarthy
14. John Rutherford of Florida voted for Scalise
15. Mike Simpson of Idaho voted for Scalise
16. Steve Womack of Arkansas voted for Scalise
17. Ken Buck of Colorado voted for Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota
18. John James of Michigan voted for Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma
19. LaMalfa voted for McCarthy, but he said he's for Jordan in round 2
20. Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted for Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky

It appears Jim Jordan may face long odds to win the Speakership, but the conservative firebrand said he's not giving up or stepping aside.

Jordan said he is meeting with more House members this morning to convince Republican defectors to back his bid.

Despite concerns that the House is frozen as the country faces countless domestic and international challenges, Jordan said he would not support the proposal to empower the temporary Speaker, Patrick McHenry, who has very little real legislative power right now.

When asked by US media if he would get behind the effort to give McHenry more power, Jordan responded: "We need to elect a speaker."

Matt Murphy
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Thanks for joining our coverage of the second round of voting to elect a US House Speaker. It promises to be another day packed full of drama.

Here's what you might have missed on Tuesday.

• Firebrand conservative and Donald Trump ally Jim Jordan failed in his bid to become Speaker in the first round. Some 20 Republicans rebelled against him
• The Ohio Republican spent most of Tuesday evening trying to sway holdouts to vote for him
• Voting is expected to start at 11:00 local time (16:00 BST)
• US media reported that up to 10 Republicans who cast their vote for Jordan on Monday could be preparing to defect in the next round
• The chaos has seen some Republicans, joined by Democrats, call for the interim Speaker Patrick McHenry to be handed additional powers to run the chamber

Bernd Debusmann Jnr and Brandon Drennon will be reporting from Capitol Hill, and you can watch proceedings live by clicking the play button at the top of the page.