Push to empower interim Speaker McHenry picks up steam as Jordan momentum stalls

Temporary House leader Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., gavels the House into recess as he announces there was no winner for House speaker in the first ballot, as Republicans try to elect Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to be the new House speaker, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A key moderate Republican leader is looking to introduce a resolution on Wednesday temporarily expanding the powers of interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., after two weeks of gridlock without a leader.

McHenry was chosen by ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to serve as speaker pro tempore if he were ever ousted, which he was earlier this month in a House majority vote by eight Republicans and all Democrats.

Now, Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Pa., chairman of the Republican Governance Group, is calling to flesh out McHenry’s role in leadership, particularly in light of the urgency for Congress to approve aid for Israel as it fights a bloody war with terror group Hamas.

A source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that Joyce hopes to introduce a resolution to do so Wednesday.

It comes after Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, fell 17 votes short of the 217 he needed to win the speaker’s gavel on Tuesday.

Twenty Republicans voted for someone other than Jordan, a tally that caught allies who expected a closer finish by surprise. Before that, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., had clinched the GOP nomination for speaker before stepping back from the race the next day over mounting public opposition.

Joyce had been one of the 200 Republicans who cast his vote for Jordan on Tuesday.

He told Fox News Digital on Wednesday morning, "After two weeks without a Speaker of the House and no clear candidate with 217 votes in the Republican conference, it is time to look at other viable options. By empowering Patrick McHenry as Speaker Pro Tempore we can take care of our ally Israel until a new Speaker is elected."