New Speaker Johnson projects unity, expects 'aggressive' schedule

After more than three hours behind closed doors, House Republicans don’t seem to have a plan on how to move forward with the speakership.

The meeting is still ongoing, but several Republicans emerged in the last few minutes to tell reporters that the proposal to temporarily empower Patrick McHenry is now a nonstarter, lacking the support of a majority of Republicans.

“The best thing for Republicans to do is to elect a speaker,” former Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters.

Absent a plan to empower McHenry, Republicans said Jordan told members he will reevaluate his campaign for speaker after talking to some of his critics. Several Republicans spoke up in the meeting and said Jordan should suspend his campaign given the lack of support.

-ABC's Benjamin Siegel

As Republicans continue to debate how best to move forward given Jordan’s impasse, some of his top allies are bashing the idea of elevating Patrick McHenry with Democratic support until January to get the House through funding Israel/Ukraine aid and avoiding a shutdown.

"This is the wrong thing to do. Our voters worked very hard to give us the majority,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., shared his opposition.

“I’m against speaker lite,” Gaetz said. “It’s constitutional desecration.”

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told ABC Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott he doesn't back the plan and predicted that more than half the GOP would oppose it.

Even if the pragmatic Republicans supporting Jordan support the plan, it will need Democratic votes. The exact number could be fluid.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has said Republicans must take up government funding and Israel/Ukraine aid. His third demand -- allowing “bipartisan bills” to the floor -- could be a nonstarter for many Republicans depending on how it’s construed.

McHenry kept his cards close entering the meeting about whether he supports the plan.

“I never asked for additional powers,” he said.

He is expected to gavel the House into session shortly and then recess as both parties continue their private meetings.

If Jordan doesn't hold a third vote in his speakership bid, and instead backs additional powers for temporary speaker McHenry, it may not mean Jordan is out of the race.

The move will allow Jordan to hold on to the "designee" title and potentially keep pursuing votes from his fellow members, but in the meantime give the House a chance to move forward with important duties such as avoiding an impending government shutdown and aid to countries at war.

On his way to the Thursday morning meeting with his colleagues, Jordan wouldn't directly say what he planned to do but pledged to offer an update after he heard from fellow members.

"I'm not gonna get into any details. I think it's important to speak to our colleagues first. And then once conference is over, I'll be happy to come out and stand there and not make you walk backwards and talk to you then," he said. "But right now, I'm gonna go talk to my colleagues."

Jordan had also previously said he was hoping to "bring the conference together" and acknowledged they were looking at "all kinds of options," including expanding the powers of McHenry and allowing the House to get back to business without an elected GOP speaker.

-ABC's Katherine Faulders and Rachel Scott

After two failed votes so far, Jordan is expected to soon tell his GOP colleagues that he won't hold a third vote for the role of speaker and instead will throw his weight behind expanding powers for the Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, according to two sources familiar with the decision.

-ABC'S Katherine Faulders and Rachel Scott