FIRST ON FOX: GOP Indiana Rep. Jim Banks called for House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, to lose her gavel for voting against GOP speaker nominee Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

Banks caught up with Fox News Digital Thursday after Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., set the House to recess amid Jordan’s speakership push.

The Indiana congressman said there were ‘a lot of emotions’ in the GOP conference meeting Thursday and that Republicans ‘have a duty’ to the American people to elect a House speaker.

Banks also called the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., ‘a big mistake’ and that Republican holdouts ‘need to come to their senses’ and vote for Jordan.

‘Some of them are leaders,’ Banks said of the holdouts. ‘The chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee voted against Jim Jordan.

‘Why? Because Jim Jordan is a fiscal conservative who understands that we need to save our country by addressing the debt and deficit spending. And she controls the Appropriations Committee. She should lose her gavel for it.’

Banks said Granger ‘shouldn’t be the chairwoman of the committee’ if she is not backing the GOP majority’s choice for speaker, adding it’s ‘really disappointing.’

‘But that’s where we are right now,’ Banks said. ‘So, it’s time to put petty differences aside and elect a Republican speaker of the House, not a Democrat speaker of the House.’

Banks said he hopes the steering committee, which handles all House committee assignments, including chair positions, will ‘take a look at’ removing Granger.

The Indiana Republican noted that the steering committee ‘isn’t populated until there’s a speaker,’ and he hopes ‘there will be a large conversation in our conference about those who betrayed the Republican majority.’

Granger’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for a response to Banks’ comments Thursday evening.

His comments come as Jordan continues his quest for the speaker’s gavel.

The House will reconvene Friday at 10 a.m.

Jordan, the Republican nominee for speaker, spent much of the day talking with holdouts following a second failed vote to win the top job in the House.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed reporting.

Several of the eight House Republicans who voted to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., indicated they have no regrets for the move that has led to two weeks without a speaker.

Fox News Digital reached out to the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from the speakership via Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz’s motion to vacate, asking if they felt responsible for the possible Democrat-backed deal to expand the interim speaker’s power.

Gaetz has since blasted the potential expansion of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry’s powers in the wake of his motion to vacate as making the interim speaker the ‘speaker light.’

‘I am against ‘speaker light,’ I am against Bud Light,’ Gaetz told reporters Thursday. ‘I believe it is a constitutional desecration not to elect a speaker of the House. We need to stay here until we elect a speaker.’

Arizona Republican Rep. Eli Crane told Fox News Digital that the ‘only things’ he feels ‘responsible for are representing the voices of the people who sent me here and reversing the course of this Conference so that we can get on a track towards fiscal responsibility and draining the Swamp.’

‘The American people want a speaker who will be honest and represent them, not business as usual in Washington,’ said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. ‘It is disgraceful for a number of elected officials, many of them in safe GOP districts, to support a plan to empower Democrats.’

‘Voting against the will of your constituents is the definition of the swamp,’ Mace continued. ‘We hope the American people see who is standing with them and who is standing with Washington.’

Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale of Montana said, ‘Bringing forward a resolution to grant additional power to a Speaker that is unelected is an attempt by the D.C. Cartel to dismiss the voice of the American people and sets a dangerous precedent.’

‘I will not support a resolution that would delay the process of selecting a Speaker and empower someone that was appointed by Kevin McCarthy and not elected by the Republican Conference,’ Rosendale added. ‘That’s why I am urging my colleagues to go back into Conference and work to nominate a candidate immediately, so we can get back to doing the work the American people elected a Republican majority to do.’

The office of Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., did not provide comment on the potential expansion of McHenry’s powers.

Gaetz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Neither did GOP Reps. Bob Good of Virginia, Andy Biggs of Arizona, or Tim Burchett of Tennessee.

It’s unclear whether House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan will hold a third vote on his nomination to be speaker of the House of Representatives. Jordan said Thrusday he would back a move to empower McHenry until January, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Jordan lost support on the second ballot Wednesday — winning only 199 votes after getting only 200 in the first ballot Tuesday.

He needed 217 to become speaker, and could afford few Republican defections. Fox News was told he was expected to lose further votes in a ballot on Thursday.

Jordan’s team had said they intended to keep going with a third vote, with supporters optimistic that he could gain support. However, there had also been other potential candidates emerging from the wings amid the stalemate.

Republicans had held a closed-door meeting Thursday morning amid escalating tensions within the House GOP, with several of Jordan’s critics stating that they had gotten credible threats because they did not vote for him for speaker. Jordan has repeatedly condemned those threats.

The House of Representatives will soon recess after a third speaker’s vote was put on hold on Thursday.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Brooke Singman contributed reporting.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan will cancel the third vote to elect a speaker in the House of Representatives and will back a move to empower House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry until January, Fox News Digital has confirmed.

Jordan lost support on the second ballot Wednesday — scoring only 199 votes after getting only 200 in the first ballot.

He needed 217 to become speaker and could afford few Republican defections. Fox News was told he was expected to lose further votes in a ballot on Thursday.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Jordan will not hold a third vote as speaker and will get behind the plan to temporarily empower McHenry until January 3. 

The source said Jordan will remain the House GOP nominee for speaker and will continue to run and attempt to shore up votes until then — a move sources had signaled would be in the best interest of Jordan’s candidacy Wednesday. 

Jordan’s team had said they intended to keep going with a third vote, with supporters optimistic that he could gain support. However, there had also been other potential candidates emerging from the wings amid the stalemate.

Republicans had held a closed-door meeting at 11 a.m. amid escalating tensions within the House GOP, with several of Jordan’s critics stating that they had gotten credible threats because they did not vote for him for speaker. Jordan has repeatedly condemned those threats.

It became clear this week that some Republican lawmakers were looking for alternate paths, including how to empower McHenry, who is currently serving as interim speaker. 

Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Pa., chairman of the Republican Governance Group, has been 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 war with terror group Hamas.

The idea also gained steam among lawmakers who voted against Jordan. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who has said he will keep voting for McCarthy on the House floor, told Fox News Digital that he was supportive of the effort.

The discussions come as the House of Representatives wades in unchartered territory following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster earlier this month. McCarthy’s removal was the first in the chamber’s history — and it’s not clear that McHenry’s current powers extend beyond just overseeing the election of the next speaker.

McHenry had said that he had no interest in the role of speaker, but amid heightened tensions in the GOP conference, he has emerged as a consensus candidate that at least some Democrats could agree to.

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said McHenry was ‘respected on our side of the aisle’ when asked on Tuesday evening if he could be a viable candidate. Jeffries also said there were ‘informal conversations’ about making a deal on a GOP speaker that he hoped would ‘accelerate’ after Jordan’s rocky performance.

On Tuesday night, former Republican Speakers Newt Gingrich and John Boehner both endorsed the idea of empowering McHenry.

Still, sources told Fox News Digital that Jordan has a path to the speakership, with some suggesting he just simply may need more time to garner support. That source said a temporary solution could help Jordan do just that. 

The uncertainty in the House comes after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., earlier this month, introduced a motion to vacate against then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. When all Democrats and eight Republicans voted together, McCarthy was ousted from his post — a first in United States history. 

A group of Republican senators led by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., are introducing legislation Thursday to redirect funds bound for Gaza to instead help replenish Israeli’s defensive ‘Iron Dome’ system.

The bill, which has 10 Republican co-sponsors as of Thursday morning, would require President Biden to transfer ‘all unexpected balances of appropriations made available to Gaza to the Department of Defense, to be available for grants to Israel for the Iron Dome short-rage rocket defend system.’

‘In the wake of Iran-backed Hamas’s savage attack on Israel in which over 1,300 people in Israel were murdered, including 30 Americans, and as Iran-backed Hamas terrorists continue to launch missiles and rockets into Israel, the American people have seen the images of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense systems repeatedly intercepting rockets and saving the lives of countless civilians,’ Hagerty told Fox News Digital. ‘My legislation requires the Biden Administration to halt U.S. foreign assistance from going to Hamas terrorist-dominated areas and instead to redirect these resources to help Israel resupply its life-saving Iron Dome interceptors. The United States should unequivocally support the right of Israel to defend itself from terrorists.’

Some U.S. officials are worried that Israeli’s defensive Iron Dome system could be stretched thin if the war with Hamas continues to escalate, a fear that would become even more dire if Hezbollah were to enter the conflict.

‘Israel is taking action right now to defend itself and its people. America cannot let Israel stand alone,’ Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., a co-sponsor of the bill, told Fox News Digital. ‘The United States must ensure Israel has the weapons and the military assistance needed to fight any and all terrorist threats. The Iron Dome is the first line of defense for Israel. It is critical to replenish this vital missile defense system so it can remain effective and operational.’  

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., another co-sponsor of the legislation, argued the U.S.-backed Iron Dome system is ‘critical’ to Israel’s ability to defend its civilian population.

‘The Iron Dome is of critical importance for Israel as it defends innocent civilians against the barbaric brutality of Hamas’ terrorist attacks and lives with the reality of additional threats every day,’ Britt told Fox News Digital. ‘The United States stands strongly with Israel—our great ally, friend, and partner.’

The bill comes the same day as President Biden’s planned Oval Office address, set for 8 p.m. ET, with the president expected to make the case to Americans that it is critical to U.S. national security to continue military support for both Ukraine and Israel in the coming months.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., another co-sponsor of the bill, argued that the president has insisted on sending aid to Gaza that should be redirected to Israel.

‘The Biden Administration insists on sending foreign assistance to Gaza, while Hamas steals it to fund weapons to kill Israelis and Americans,’ Hawley told Fox News Digital. ‘Congress must act to redirect these funds to Israel to help restock their critical missile defense systems.’

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., another bill co-sponsor, echoed concerns about funding to Gaza.

‘Now more than ever, the U.S. must stand in support with our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel,’ Rubio told Fox News Digital. ‘Instead of providing assistance to Gaza, the Biden Administration must ensure any taxpayer funds are used to support Israel’s Iron Dome to defend its citizens from the savagery of Iran-backed Hamas.’

Meanwhile, Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., argued that the U.S. has a ‘moral obligation’ to make sure Israel has the ability to defend itself.

‘In the face of such unspeakable attacks, we have a moral obligation to ensure Israel, one of our strongest allies, has the ability to properly defend its people,’ Lummis, a co-sponsor of the bill, told Fox News Digital. ‘Now more than ever, it’s critical we help fortify the cornerstone of Israel’s defense system to make sure Israel can defend itself from terrorists.’

The bill redirecting funds is also co-sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Thom Tillis, R-N.C.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., with Tuberville arguing that all foreign assistance to Gaza should be halted.

‘The Hamas and Iran-orchestrated terror attacks we have seen in Israel are pure evil,’ Tuberville told Fox News Digital. ‘Israel must wipe Hamas from the face of the earth and ensure that this never happens again. As Israel continues to fight and kill terrorists, the United States has a strategic interest in supporting Israel and supplying Israel. We should immediately stop all foreign assistance to Hamas-controlled Gaza and redirect those funds to the Iron Dome, which has saved countless Israeli civilian lives.’

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a National Security Council spokesperson said that ‘U.S. assistance for Palestinians does not go to or through Hamas’ and that the State Department ‘has rigorous oversight over UNRWA policies, programs, and finances – including through the completion of an annual report to Congress on key UNRWA issues, such as quarterly assessments of UNRWA facilities, potential misconduct by UNRWA staff or beneficiaries, and compliance with section 301(c) of the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.’

‘The United States provides funding for essential and life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees through vetted international and non-governmental organizations,’ the spokesperson said. ‘These organizations fill a critical role in providing assistance that would otherwise be filled by terrorist organizations like Hamas. Our trusted partners and beneficiaries are subject to extensive vetting and oversight procedures to help prevent assistance from flowing to individuals or organizations that are affiliated with terrorists.’

The spokesperson pointed to remarks Biden has made throughout the month, including directing his team to ensure that Israel had everything they needed for the Iron Dome.

‘We’re surging additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome,’ Biden said last week. ‘We’re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.’

The spokesperson also noted that Biden has given assurances that aid would not continue if it fell into the hands of Hamas.

‘If Hamas confiscates it or doesn’t let it get through or just confiscates it, then it’s going to end, because we’re not going to be sending any humanitarian aid to Hamas if they’re going to be confiscating it,’ Biden said Wednesday. ‘That’s the commitment that I’ve made.’

Meanwhile, Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates pointed out that the ‘vast majority of the Palestinian people are not Hamas.’

‘There is strong, bipartisan support for President Biden’s efforts to deliver humanitarian necessities to the people of Gaza – like food, water, and medicine – without benefiting Hamas,’ Bates said.

A Biden administration official has resigned from the State Department, citing President Biden’s announcement of material support for Israel. The official said he ‘cannot work’ as the U.S. helps Israel in its war against the Hamas terrorist group.

Josh Paul, who worked for the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, where he was responsible for transferring arms to key American allies, posted his resignation letter on social media. In it, he said ‘continued lethal assistance to Israel’ prompted his decision to leave.

‘Today I informed my colleagues that I have resigned from the State Department, due to a policy disagreement concerning our continued lethal assistance to Israel,’ Paul wrote on LinkedIn.

He added: ‘I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be shortsighted, destructive, unjust, and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse.’

In the lengthy statement, Paul condemned Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli civilians, but said Israel’s ‘response’ in seeking to eliminate Hamas was too far.

‘Let me be clear: Hamas’ attack on Israel was not just a monstrosity; it was a monstrosity of monstrosities,’ he wrote. ‘I also believe that potential escalations by Iran-linked groups such as Hezbollah, or by Iran itself, would be a further cynical exploitation of the existing tragedy. But I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people — and is not in the long term American interest.’

His decision came as Biden announced the U.S. would be supplying weapons and munitions to Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East. Biden also said the U.S. stands unequivocally with Israel and its right to defend itself following Hamas’ ruthless assault on Oct. 7 that left more than 1,400 Israelis dead. It was the worst terror attack in the country’s history.

‘When I came to the Bureau, the U.S. Government entity most responsible for the transfer and provision of arms to partners and allies, I knew it was not without its moral complexity and moral compromises, and I made myself a promise that I would stay for as long as I felt the harm I might do would be outweighed by the good I could do,’ Paul wrote. ‘In my 11 years I have made more moral compromises than I can recall, each heavily, but each with my promise to myself in mind, and intact. I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued — indeed, expanded and expedited — provision of lethal arms to Israel — I have reached the end of that bargain.’

He added: ‘We cannot be both against occupation and for it. We cannot be both for freedom and against it. And we cannot be for a better world while contributing to one that is materially worse.’

‘This Administration’s response — and much of Congress’ as well — is an impulsive reaction built on confirmation bias, political convenience, intellectual bankruptcy, and bureaucratic inertia,’ Paul continued in the statement. ‘That is to say, it is immensely disappointing, and entirely unsurprising. Decades of the same approach have shown that security for peace leads to neither security nor peace.’

Later in the statement, Paul said the U.S., as a ‘third party,’ should not take a side in the conflict and suggested that Israel had committed ‘gross violations of human rights.’

Biden’s stance on the conflict includes wholly supporting Israel while ensuring aid is given to civilians caught in the crossfire. On Wednesday, he announced $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The president said the aid would be cut off if it fell into the hands of Hamas.

According to his LinkedIn, Paul has worked at the State Department since April 2012.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced a bill Thursday to reallocate the $6 billion in Iranian funds to Israeli defense amid Israel’s war against Hamas.

The bill seeks to take the $6 billion, which was released to Iran in September as part of a negotiation for the release of five American prisoners, and put it into an account for Israel to use in its fight against Iran-backed Hamas. 

‘As the Iranian-backed terror group Hamas continues its barbaric attacks against the Israeli people, the United States must stand firmly by our biggest ally in the Middle East,’ Daines said in a statement. ‘The United States must not only restrict Iran’s access to Biden’s $6 billion ransom payment but also repurpose those funds to help Israel recover from these horrific actions.’

The bill also proposes that frozen Iranian assets beyond the initial $6 billion cannot be unfrozen or utilized until the president confirms to Congress that hostilities between Hamas, other Iranian-backed groups, and Israel have ceased; until full compensation has been provided to Israel for damages caused by attacks; or until Iran is actively participating in an internationally agreed mechanism to compensate Israel for determined amounts owed.

Republican lawmakers in the upper chamber have been ramping up their efforts to introduce bills pertaining to the Iranian assets this week.

Nearly 20 GOP senators are calling on the Biden administration to freeze the funds that were released to a Qatar account in exchange for five American prisoners last month.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., led a group of GOP senators on Tuesday, urging the administration to ‘limit Iran’s ability to provide support to Hamas.’

Meanwhile, Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and John Kennedy, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., linked arms to introduce legislation to also freeze the assets. 

BIDEN ISSUES CRYPTIC WARNING TO IRAN AFTER ADMIN DENIES COUNTRY WAS INVOLVED IN HAMAS ATTACK: ‘BE CAREFUL’

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, also unveiled legislation Tuesday that would handicap the Treasury and State Department’s ability to relax U.S. sanctions on Iranian assets and direct the Treasury secretary to examine Iranian assets around the world currently restricted by U.S. sanctions and provide that information to Congress.

In the House, China Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., led a bipartisan group of nearly 100 House lawmakers last Wednesday to urge President Biden to refreeze the $6 billion as well. 

The U.S. has a ‘quiet agreement’ with Qatar to block Iran from accessing the $6 billion amid Hamas’ terror attacks on Israel that began Oct. 7, sources familiar with the move told Fox News last week.

President Biden gave an address from the White House’s Oval Office Thursday night, when he provided an update on two conflicts happening across the globe, including Israel’s war with Hamas and Russia’s continued fighting in Ukraine. He vowed America would not be on the sidelines of either conflict.

His brief remarks, however, were met with some criticism as Republicans and others accused him of trying to fix problems that he previously caused and attempted to use the slaughtering of Israelis and the current humanitarian crisis in Gaza to request additional funds in the Ukraine conflict.

‘The shame of it all is that we wouldn’t be in this terrible position if Joe Biden hadn’t been so weak in Afghanistan, so slow in Ukraine, so pandering to Iran, and so absent from the border,’ wrote Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate who is beating him in some head-to-head polls. ‘The world is on fire, and America needs strong new leadership to deal with it.’

Some critics called his speech ‘unbelievable’ and ‘completely disgraceful.’

In his Oval Office address, Biden focused on Ukraine, which included him saying he will send an ‘urgent budget request’ to Congress on Friday ‘to fund America’s national security needs to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine is a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations.’

Haley emphasized Biden’s ‘weakness’ around the globe ahead of the speech and said the blame for the current state should rest on him.

‘Biden cozied up to Iran, giving it billions of dollars & easing sanctions. Biden talks a big game on Russia, but was too slow in providing Ukraine with the weapons to beat Russia quickly. Biden’s weakness on Moscow & Tehran has strengthened Beijing,’ she wrote.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-SC, who is also seeking the Republican nomination to go against Biden in 2024, posted on X, ‘Biden gave $6 billion to the number one state sponsor of terrorism.’

He added, ‘There’s no way around it.’

Scott also joined ‘Hannity’ Thursday evening, when he further discussed President Biden’s address.

‘Our ally, Israel, was bombed by a terrorist organization and tonight’s speech focused more on Ukraine than Israel,’ the presidential contender said. ‘That’s unbelievable.’

He also said Biden should have more clearly sent a message to Iran and the consequences they would face if they continue to back terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Joe Concha, a Fox News contributor, recalled that during the speech, Biden gave himself credit for being the first U.S. president to visit Israel during a wartime.

‘Biden has now twice patted himself on the back for being the first American president to go into a war zone. This speech is an absolute mess,’ Concha wrote.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, said Biden appeared to correlate the two global conflicts to ‘sell the American people’ on additional aid to Ukraine, which has warred with Russia for more than 600 days.

‘I think what the president did is completely disgraceful. If he wants to sell the American people on $60B more to Ukraine, he shouldn’t use dead Israeli children to do it. It was disgusting,’ Vance wrote on X.

Fox News host Sean Hannity addressed the speech during his show on Thursday evening.

‘I thought it was cliché,’ Hannity said. ‘I wanted to hear more about the barbaric brutality that took place in Israel, the worst terror attack in their history. I wanted to hear more about the hostages. I wanted to hear more about the Americans killed. I wanted to hear more about what America needs to do in all this.’

Fox News’ Dana Perino said Thursday, just before Hannity, that she said she ‘didn’t think it was strong.’

‘I actually didn’t think it was strong,’ Perino said. ‘I prepared all day to want to love this speech. I prepared all day to want to stand up and cheer but at times I felt like a speech whose pages had been mixed up out of order.’

‘I thought he didn’t spend enough time talking about the atrocities of Oct. 7,’ she added. Perino applauded Biden for mentioning antisemitism but said, ‘he rushed that part of the speech and the next thing I know we’re talking about Ukraine.’

Republican congressional candidate JR Majewski described Biden’s speech as a ‘campaign ad for Trump.’

‘That entire Biden speech was a campaign ad for Trump 2024,’ Majeski wrote on X. ‘Trump never gave speeches about how badly we needed to help the world because of the wars that he caused, because he never caused these problems.’

He added, ‘Joe Biden does NOT deserve another term in office. Frankly, he doesn’t deserve another day in office.’

Democrats widely lauded the speech, and Biden also received praise from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

‘I thank Joe Biden for his powerful address. Together, we will not allow hatred destroy freedom, and we will not let terrorists destroy democracy,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X. ‘Ukraine is grateful for all the U.S. support and its unfaltering belief that humanism, freedom, independence, and rules-based international order must always triumph.’

His address came a day after he visited Tel Aviv, where met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli officials in the hopes of containing the crisis in the Gaza Strip from erupting into a wider conflict.

Biden also said he would ‘keep American troops out of harm’s way,’ and that the congressional aid package would ‘help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful and more prosperous for our children and grandchildren in Israel.’

The House of Representatives is expected to convene for a third round of votes on Friday as Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, struggles to reach the 217-member threshold needed to win the speaker’s gavel.

House lawmakers got a notice on Thursday evening that no more votes would be expected that day after hours spent in limbo waiting for Jordan to decide if and how to move forward. The notice said the House would convene at 10 a.m. on Friday.

Jordan’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Ohio conservative intends to hold a vote around that time.

Even if he loses again, Jordan ally Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, indicated that Jordan would keep fighting on Saturday and Sunday.

‘We’ve heard from our colleagues and the American people. Additional votes are expected through the weekend,’ Davidson wrote on social media.

Jordan’s path to the speakership remains uncertain — he fell 17 votes short of the necessary number needed to win on Tuesday, and the number increased to 18 during the second round vote on Wednesday.

Late on Thursday afternoon, Jordan met with some of the 20-plus lawmakers opposing his bid for speaker.

They were largely silent when leaving the meeting room. The lawmakers who did speak to reporters indicated their minds were unchanged. 

‘Not trying to change our minds, trying to change his mind. Our mind is set,’ Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., said when asked if the meeting was about getting them to flip. 

House Republicans began the day with a closed-door conference meeting as reports swirled that Jordan did not intend to hold a third-round vote, and instead would support a plan to grant temporary powers to interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., to pass legislation through early January. 

Jordan would have remained speaker-designate for that time being, the reports, which were confirmed to Fox News Digital by two sources, said. 

But conservatives in the conference quickly balked at the plan. Some called it unconstitutional, pointing out that the speaker pro tempore role explicitly only allows them to oversee elections, while others complained it would give Jordan an unfair leg up in the speaker’s race by keeping him as speaker-designate.

Some Republicans emerged from the meeting, which lasted nearly four hours, insisting to reporters that the McHenry proposal was dead in the water. 

‘It’s not going to happen,’ Donalds told reporters. ‘I think that is the decision as I understand it. And I think even Patrick, to his credit and to his fidelity to the U.S. Constitution, we cannot just drop powers in the lap of somebody. We have to elect a speaker.’

Moderates like Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Pa., and Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., insisted the proposal still had legs.

Jordan largely ignored reporters’ questions through the day, including queries on whether he supported empowering McHenry.