The second failed effort on Wednesday by Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio to be elected House speaker added momentum to an idea that has been floated by lawmakers in both parties in recent days: Give Representative Patrick T. McHenry, the interim speaker, explicit power to conduct legislative business.
Mr. McHenry is acting as temporary speaker under rules adopted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that require the speaker of the House to come up with a list of people to fill the post in the event that it becomes vacant.
When former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted out by a right-wing rebellion two weeks ago, the world learned that Mr. McHenry’s was the first name on his list.
Many House aides believe that Mr. McHenry’s power is strictly confined to presiding over the election of a new speaker, as he has been doing this week.
And as the turmoil around replacing Mr. McCarthy has continued, some members in both parties have been quietly discussing a way to explicitly grant Mr. McHenry permission to step in with full — or at least expanded — authority to run the House.
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Jim Jordan of Ohio