Vote.

The latest: House Republicans are poised to hold another secret-ballot vote to nominate a new speaker candidate tonight after Rep. Tom Emmer dropped out of the race earlier today, just hours after he was selected as the latest GOP nominee. What happens next: Republicans will hold a roll-call vote behind closed doors tomorrow morning to see if their next nominee can secure the 217 votes to win the gavel. A potential unity ticket: A Kevin McCarthy-Jim Jordan unity ticket, with the former House speaker back in his role and Jordan as McCarthy's deputy, is actively being discussed between allies of each representative as a solution for the fractured GOP conference. Chamber in limbo: Pressure is intensifying on House Republicans to elect a new speaker three weeks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted. The House remains effectively frozen — a dire situation as Congress faces a funding deadline in November and as crisis unfolds abroad in Ukraine and with Israel’s war against Hamas.

Williams talks with reporters on Tuesday, October 24. Williams talks with reporters on Tuesday, October 24. CNN

Republican Rep. Roger Williams, who is running for speaker, made his case at a meeting ahead of the secret ballot Tuesday night and said he was confident someone in the Republican House could get the House votes needed to become speaker.

“My entire presentation was a business presentation. I am a businessman. You still own the business,” the chairman of the House Small Business Committee told CNN. When asked by CNN whether he thought a candidate needed to get 217 votes before taking the stage, Williams said that if someone gets close, they should get a grassroots vote.

“I wish I could get it, but I guess I’ll have to go and see for myself what happens when I get close. A lot has happened in the last four days. And 217 is difficult to access. But there is someone, someone in this room who strongly believes we can get to 217,” the Texas Republican said.

Asked if he can reach that number, Williams said: “Well that’s why I’m running. I think I can. But we’ll see.”



Some lawmakers split over potential McCarthy-Jordan unity ticket idea

Rep. Cory Mills told CNN he would “never” support a Kevin McCarthy-Jim Jordan unity ticket, calling such an arrangement “unconstitutional.”

A unity ticket with the former House speaker back in his role and Jordan as McCarthy's deputy is actively being discussed between McCarthy allies and Jordan allies a solution for a fractured GOP conference.

Mills, a Florida Republican, is backing Rep. Byron Donalds will assume the chairmanship, but will not commit to supporting a subsequent candidate.

However, Representative Carlos Gimenez, also a Florida Republican, told CNN that he would support a unified McCarthy-Jordan ticket. Although he voted against Jordan last week, he noted that he "always" wanted to reinstate McCarthy as speaker. He also confirmed that he had heard about the idea. 

will hold a roll-call vote behind closed doors tomorrow to see if nominee can get to 217

House Republicans will start multiple rounds of secret-ballot voting tonight behind closed doors at 8 p.m. ET to nominate a speaker designee.

House Republicans will then leave for the night and are expected back at 9 a.m. ET tomorrow. That's when the conference will hold a roll-call vote behind closed doors to see if the nominee can secure the 217 votes to win the gavel.

South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman said, “I think we’ll have a nominee tonight.”

He said if their designee can get to 217 during the Wednesday morning vote, they’ll go to the floor for an official vote in front of the entire House.

Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett echoed Norman, and dismissed the idea of a shared Kevin McCarthy-Jim Jordan unity ticket that has been floated by some lawmakers, saying “that’s not going to happen.

McCarthy-Jordan GOP unity ticket could pick up steam, sources say

The idea of a Republican House speaker unity ticket with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as speaker and Jim Jordan as his deputy is actively being discussed between McCarthy allies and Jordan allies, sources tell CNN, who think it could gain steam if the GOP once again fails to reach consensus tonight.

Under the arrangement being discussed and pitched to members, McCarthy would run as speaker while vowing to make Jordan his “assistant speaker” if elected — a made-up and largely symbolic position, but one former Speaker Nancy Pelosi once previously bestowed on one of her deputies. A person familiar with the strategy said it would allow Jordan to retain his influential role as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

But while the idea seems unlikely, it could theoretically be a way to unite the deeply divided wings of the party, the sources said.