Another House speaker vote fails. What’s the longest the House has been without one?

House Republicans again failed to rally around one candidate for House speaker, leaving the chamber leaderless for a third straight week.

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan was unable to secure enough GOP support during the first round of floor voting on Oct. 17.

Two-hundred Republicans voted for Jordan, a far-right firebrand endorsed by former President Donald Trump, falling short of the 217 needed to win the speakership, according to C-SPAN. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic nominee, received 212 votes.

“It’s clear that the Republican conference is still divided,” Oregon Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, one of the 20 Republicans who voted against Jordan, said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m deeply concerned that the chaos of the last few weeks would only continue if Congressman Jordan becomes speaker,” Chavez-DeRemer added.

Jordan’s unsuccessful bid for the speakership comes after a small group of Republicans voted with Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the position on Oct. 3, according to the Associated Press. After his removal, North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry became speaker pro tempore and assumed some leadership duties.

In the weeks that followed, several House Republicans threw their hats into the ring for speaker, including Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader, and Rep. Austin Scott, a back-bencher from Georgia.

But so far, none have been able to unite their party, leaving the House paralyzed in the face of unfolding crises in Israel and Ukraine.

However, this is not the first time the House has been without a speaker, and it’s far from the longest amount of time it’s gone without a leader.

How long has the House gone without a speaker?

Over the past two centuries, there have been a number of occasions when the House of Representatives went without a speaker.

The last time the speaker’s position was unoccupied for a prolonged period was in 1971, according to The Washington Post, citing the Congressional Research Service. Eighteen days passed before Carl Albert, a Democrat from Oklahoma, was elected speaker.

However, the weekslong leadership vacuum was not the result of partisan division, but instead was caused by a lengthy Congressional recess, according to the outlet.

Before that, in 1961, the House went 28 days with an interim speaker while then-Speaker Sam Rayburn was incapacitated, according to the outlet.

However, the longest stretch the House went without a speaker was in 1856, according to House records.

At the time, conflicts over slavery and growing anti-immigrant sentiments led to a worsening political climate, and the lower house of Congress remained staunchly divided.

“As a sign of the factionalism then existing in the House, more than 21 individuals initially vied for the Speaker’s post when the Members first gathered in December, 1855,” according to House records.

Finally, after two months had passed and 133 ballots had been cast, the House elected Massachusetts Rep. Nathaniel Banks to serve as speaker.