Republicans are back to square one. It’s a game of congressional snakes and ladders, where every space on the board is a serpent.
More than two weeks after a handful of House conservatives ousted Kevin McCarthy from the speaker’s chair, the party is still looking for a someone who can successfully reach the top of the board.
No one yet has even come close.
Jim Jordan is only the latest, most determined casualty of a leadership drama that at every turn seems to get more chaotic and acrimonious.
His week-long quest to win the top job in the House ended up as futile as his party’s first pick, Steve Scalise, who threw in the towel before any ballots had been cast.
Mr Scalise may have seen the writing on the wall more quickly because he is a traditional Republican legislator, who had come up through the ranks of his party’s leadership.
He had made deals and built relationships to become the second-ranking Republican in the House.
Credit: BBC