Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

The House floor is buzzing with conversation as lawmakers stream into the chamber ahead of the vote.

Fresh off telling reporters that Democrats will be "here as long as it takes to end this nightmare", Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries just strolled in with a dozen colleagues in tow.

James Comer, the Republican heading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, has been milling around the back of the chamber.

One Democratic lawmaker is sitting in the front row with what appears to be two grandchildren. He is chatting intently with them and introducing them to colleagues.

The morning session is gavelled in, and a prayer begins the day.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Capitol Hill

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Jim Jordan “a clear and present danger to the American people”.

Democrats have been very vocal about their opposition to Jordan's candidacy, who they consider a conservative extremist. This morning, speaking in the Capitol, Jeffries repeated House Democrats' pleas for bipartisanship.

Despite most House Republicans’ reluctance to work across the aisle, Jeffries said he remains optimistic.

“There are still reasonable Republicans,” he said, adding that "all options are on the table to get the House back open".

Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are struggling to understand the point of Jim Jordan's early morning press conference. He did not share anything new for those who watched.

The Ohio congressman announced he would continue his bid for Speakership, which he also said yesterday. Perhaps the newest bit of information was that he indicated it could take some time. He appeared to compare his political effort to the progression of air travel, flummoxing those who expected plans or answers to address the chamber's paralysis.

"Maybe I should do a press conference," Mike Collins, an anti-Jordan congressman, quipped in a social media post.

Ted Lieu, a Democratic lawmaker from California, suggested he knew the point of the presser.

"Having served with Jim Jordan on the House Judiciary Committee, I offer the Occam’s Razor explanation for his befuddling press conference: Jim Jordan likes to be on television," he said on social media.

Even news organisations that were previously sympathetic to Jordan appeared to be scratching their heads.

"I'm not sure what the purpose of the press conference was," Lawrence Jones, a Fox News host, said as Jordan stepped away from the podium.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from the Capitol

On this sunny Friday morning in Washington DC, House Democrats have a relaxed demeanour as pressure builds on Republicans to resolve their in-fighting.

I bumped into Texas Democrat Veronica Escobar on the front steps of the Capitol, who mostly wore a smile while giving a quick tour to her interns.

Escobar said as long as Republicans cater to the extremists within their party they’ll “never” reach the necessary 217 votes to elect a Speaker.

She's hoping the parties can work across the aisle to reach a solution - which some Republicans are keen to avoid.

“A bipartisan path forward, it would be the best thing for country,” she said.

“Their strategy of going at it alone is going to make us end up in the same place every single time. It’s frustrating.”

Image source, Reuters

Supporters of Jim Jordan have begun calling on his Republican opponents to disclose their "real reason" for not backing him.

Writing on X, external, formerly known as Twitter, Rep Scott Perry, chair of the House Freedom caucus that Jordan co-founded in 2015, said: "If you’re not voting for Jim Jordan, you at least owe it to the American People to tell them the REAL REASON."

On Thursday, Jordan was photographed leaving a meeting of the House Republican Conference carrying some scribbled notes, one of which read: "What is the real reason?"

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Image source, Getty Images

The numbers have not been Jim Jordan's friend this week.

He needs 217 votes to earn the Speaker's gavel - but in two previous votes, he has not received more than 200.

The signs ahead of this morning's vote are that the number of people supporting him could actually go down.

At a meeting with holdouts on Thursday evening, several of Jordan's colleagues - some of whom have received death threats - told him they were "solid Nos" and urged him to drop out.

"I don't really take well to threats," Carlos Gimenez of Florida told reporters. "Matter of fact, if you threaten me, I'd probably go the other way."

As Jordan returned to his office after the meeting, he said there had been "good conversations".

Image source, Getty Images

Things are getting heated between Republican members of Congress.

Jim Jordan supporters, or those who have chosen to support him just to get a Speaker elected, are tired of the two dozen holdouts who are stopping business from continuing in Congress.

There is also still frustration that Kevin McCarthy was ousted in the first place.

And some of the feuds have gone public.

Last night, North Carolina congressman Greg Murphy ended up blocking South Carolina representative Nancy Mace after a Twitter spat.

She tweeted that the House should stay in Washington until a Speaker was elected. Murphy replied: "How about apologizing for causing this mess?"

Mace was one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Jim Jordan did not take many questions at this press conference - but he was pointedly asked for his current position on whether or not the 2020 election was stolen.

“I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election, I've been clear about that,” he replied.

At least one lawmaker - Ken Buck of Colorado - has said Jordan’s position as a chief election-denier in the party makes him a poor choice for Speaker, and means Jordan will not get Buck’s vote.

Buck is a fairly conservative lawmaker - but several moderates in the party who are also rejecting Jordan’s bid for Speaker will feel equally uncomfortable with his answer on the election.

For rebuking Jordan, Buck says he has received at least four death threats from Jordan backers and is even being evicted from his office in Colorado because his landlord does not appreciate his position on the Speaker vote.

Buck is just one of the people claiming such an intimidation campaign - another problem Jordan faces as he seeks to convert those opposed to him leading the House.

Jordan holds 'pep talk'published at 13:25 British Summer Time 20 October 2023

13:25 BST 20 October 2023

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Staring down a third vote that could reveal even more opposition to his Speaker’s bid, Jim Jordan held a press conference that was, in essence, a 20-minute pep talk.

He didn’t reveal any new strategy for winning over holdouts. He didn’t give any kind of timeline for how long he would press on, in the face of seemingly determined opposition.

And he didn’t confirm a rumoured strategy of holding vote after vote through the weekend, in an attempt to wear down his opposition.

It was a press conference where the only news was that Jordan takes inspiration from the Wright Brothers and that the House should end this embarrassing standoff, elect a speaker and get back to business.

On that last bit, all the arguing parties in the Republican caucus would agree.

Asked about his view of the 2020 election, which some of those refusing to back him have cited as a key concern, Jordan says: “I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election and I’ve been clear about that.”

Asked about a message he sent to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows suggesting Vice President Mike Pence could decline to certify the election results, he says he was forwarding an argument “from an accomplished lawyer who laid out an argument from the Federalist Papers”.

“I forwarded it on to him. That was all it was,” he says.

He takes a few more questions before concluding the conference.

The reason for this press conference is clear.

Jim Jordan is not backing out, nor is he here to claim he has the votes. He's here to talk about why he is calling a third vote today for Speaker and why he should be elected.

He lists the reasons, including funding aid for Israel, that "we need to get the House open".

"I've got 200 votes, I know we can do this."

"Our plan is to get a Speaker elected as soon as possible, so we can help the American people."

From air travel, to putting a man on the moon, Jordan starts by talking about how incredible America is but how the American people are starting to doubt its leadership right now.

"This is a great country made of great people, but right now those people are starting to doubt their government," Jordan says.

He talks about how Congress needs to reopen. Business is stalled until a Speaker is elected.

"We have important work to do. Important work to help Israel."

"We can't open the House until we get a Speaker," he says.

Sam Cabral
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Several Jordan-backing lawmakers are scattered across this room.

They applauded as their favoured Speaker nominee enters their room.

Jordan prefers to wear his shirt and tie with no jacket - and that is the case again today.

He launches into a speech that segues from the Wright Brothers and Neil Armstrong to weaponised government and open borders.

“We need to get to work for the American people,” Jordan says. “We can’t do that if the House isn’t open.”

“We can’t open the House if there’s no Speaker.”

It's only 08:00 in the morning local time but the room is filled for Jim Jordan's morning press conference. He starts with a story about the Wright brothers' first flight.

Image source, Getty Images

We're expecting Jim Jordan to deliver a press conference from the Capitol in the coming moments. He has already vowed to stay in the race, and is expected to make the case for his candidacy.

Follow this page for updates as he speaks and you can watch live by clicking the play button at the top of the page.

As we have said, the list of Republicans has been steadily growing as voting has gone on.

Senior party members have said they expect more Republicans to vote against Jordan in Friday's ballot.

Some 22 Republicans voted against the Ohio congressman on Tuesday. Here is the full list:

1. Rep Don Bacon - No, for Kevin McCarthy
2. Rep Vern Buchannan - No, for Byron Donalds (New No Vote)
3. Rep Ken Buck - No, for Tom Emmer
4. Rep Lori Chavez-DeRemer - No, for Kevin McCarthy
5. Rep Anthony D'Esposito - No, for Lee Zeldin
6. Rep Mario Díaz-Balart - No, for Steve Scalise.
7. Rep Jake Ellzey - No, voted for Mike Garcia.
8. Rep Drew Ferguson - No, for Steve Scalise (New No Vote)
9. Rep Andrew Garbarino - No, for Lee Zeldin
10. Rep Carlos Giménez - No, for Kevin McCarthy
11. Rep Tony Gonzales - No, for Steve Scalise
12. Rep Kay Granger - No, for Steve Scalise
13. Rep John James - No, for Candace Miller
14. Rep Mike Kelly - No, for John Boehner
15. Rep Jennifer Kiggans - No, for Kevin McCarthy.
16. Rep Nick LaLota - No, for Lee Zeldin
17. Rep Michael Lawler - No, for Kevin McCarthy.
18. Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks- No, for Kay Granger (New No Vote)
19. Rep John Rutherford - No, for Steve Scalise.
20. Rep Michael Simpson - No, for Steve Scalise.
21. Rep Pete Stauber - No, for Bruce Westerman (New No Vote)
22. Rep Steve Womack - No, for Steve Scalise

There’s a lot of moving pieces to this political puzzle today, and we got a glimpse of that from Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.

After leaving a party meeting on Thursday, she spoke to reporters and said "this conference is absolutely broken".

Greene says Jim Jordan wanted to suspend his bid to become House Speaker, rather than push ahead with a third vote today."

He wants to move with the resolution to empower Patrick McHenry as some sort of a short-term Speaker. I think that's the wrong thing to do,” she said.“

He wants to do that while he continues talking to people and finding a path. I completely disagree."

Earlier, Greene took to social media to say she would vote “no” to a resolution to empower a short-term Speaker and added that she would not share “our power” with Democrats.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Jim Jordan, a Trump ally and hard-line Republican, was first nominated to become House Speaker on Tuesday.

The Democrats nominated Hakeem Jeffries.

The Republicans hold a slim majority in the House, meaning Jordan could only afford to lose four party members in a vote on the House floor.

In the first vote, 20 Republicans voted against him. Then on Wednesday there was a second vote, with the same two names nominated.

This time, 22 Republicans voted against Jordan. There were rumblings among various political insiders overnight that the number of Republicans against Jordan would increase again if a third vote was held today.

Matt Murphy
Live reporter, in Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Thanks for joining our coverage of the ongoing chaos on Capitol Hill, where firebrand Republican Jim Jordan is expected to call a third vote to become US House Speaker.

Here's what you may have missed in this saga so far:

• Jordan has already lost two votes on the House floor, with rebels in his own party teaming up to block his path to office
• After losing the first round vote on Tuesday with 20 Republicans opposing him, Jordan lost a second vote by a larger margin the following day when 22 members voted against him
• He spent much of Thursday trying to win over holdouts, but opposition to Jordan seems to be hardening among the rebels
• The Ohio congressman is expected to hold a news conference at 08:00 local time (13:00 BST), where he is expected to make a case for his candidacy
• He is then expected to call a fresh vote at around 10:00 local time (15:00 BST)
• You can follow all Friday's action live here