(VOVWORLD) - The US House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to elect a new Speaker. Republicans hold a majority -- 221 seats to the 212 seats of the Democratic Party -- so electing a Speaker is considered essentially an internal matter of the Republican Party.
 Jim Jordan fails to win House speakership on first ballot (Photo: Getty) |
On the first ballot hard-right Republican Jim Jordan received 200 votes, short of the 217 needed to secure the Speakership. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, received 212 votes. This means the US House of Representatives continues to be leaderless.
According to analysts, electing a new Speaker could take as long as it did earlier this year, when Kevin McCarthy needed 15 rounds of voting to win the gavel.