California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters has a penchant for making a spectacle of herself, and when the House of Representatives convened to vote for Speaker, she did not disappoint.

As member after member of the House named their choice for Speaker, Rep. Waters decided that simply doing her job was not enough.

As she voted for House Minority Leader and New York Democrat Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, she called him a Patriot and Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan an “insurrectionist.”

Jeers from the Republican side rained on the California representative as an unnamed Republican said, “Huh? What did the Communist say?”

Maxine Waters gets jeered when she starts to cut a promo on “insurrectionist” Jim Jordan pic.twitter.com/F7jWs3TR31

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2023

It came the day before Rep. Jordan was defeated again in a vote for Speaker on Wednesday.

The Ohio representative lost a second vote for speaker of the House on Wednesday, leaving many to wonder if he has any chance of succeeding in the face of strong opposition and the House’s continued inability to function.

The Ohio Republican lost in the first round of voting on Tuesday when twenty of his party members voted against him. This was a much larger number than the few he could afford to lose given the GOP’s razor-thin majority.

Some Republicans are trying to get North Carolina Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry more power as interim speaker as they try to find a way out of their leadership crisis. According to two CNN sources, Republicans are planning to introduce a resolution to empower McHenry as early as Wednesday afternoon.

The chamber is effectively paralyzed in the absence of a speaker, a perilous situation given the ongoing conflict abroad and the looming possibility of a government shutdown next month.

Wednesday morning, Jordan reaffirmed his intention to remain a candidate by saying the House needs a permanent Republican speaker and dismissing the idea of empowering McHenry.

“We got to get a speaker so we can open the House, so I’m going to get there,” he said.

Many Republicans are against a resolution to give more power to McHenry, so it would need Democratic support to pass. As a result, Democrats may be able to negotiate for more favorable terms from Republicans in exchange for their support.

On Tuesday afternoon, Jordan, the second Republican nominee for the position this month, fell 17 votes short of the 217 he needed to win.

“We’re gonna keep going. I’ve had great conversations, great discussions with our colleagues,” Jordan said late Tuesday. “No one in our conference wants to see any type of coalition government with Democrats. So we’re going to keep working, and we’re going to get to the votes.”