On 18 October Jim Jordan, a hard-line conservative and staunch ally of former president Donald Trump, lost a second bid to be elected as speaker of the House of Representatives. Jordan, a nine-term lawmaker from the midwestern state of Ohio, won only 199 Republican votes in the second round of voting, as 22 Republican colleagues voted for other lawmakers for the top position in the lower chamber of Congress. He also trailed Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, who won the votes of all 212 Democrats, although he has no chance of becoming speaker of the chamber that is narrowly led by Republicans. Since Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker two weeks ago, the House has been rudderless. It has been unable to consider any legislation, such as a spending measure to avert a partial government shutdown when current funding runs out on 17 November, or a straightforward, bipartisan resolution to support Israel after the attack by Hamas militants. With Jordan’s defeat, it is not immediately clear what steps the House might take next to fill the speakership.