Republicans drop Jim Jordan as House speaker nominee after three failed votes

Jim Jordan (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republicans have dropped Jim Jordan as their nominee for the speaker of the US House of Representatives, making the decision during a closed-door session after the ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.

With the impasse in the blocked House deepening, Republicans have no realistic or workable plan to unite their fractured majority, elect a new speaker and return to the work of Congress that has been languishing since hardliners ousted Kevin McCarthy at the start of the month.