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After more than two weeks in Washington without a House speaker, it increasingly looks like a penchant for brinkmanship is undermining one of America鈥檚 major political parties.

Ohio Republican Jim Jordan 鈥� the second GOP speaker nominee since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from his post 鈥� lost a third floor vote Friday. Then, in a GOP meeting behind closed doors, he lost a secret ballot 112-86 that asked if he should continue as speaker-nominee. Now, with members headed home for the weekend, the search for a speaker of the House begins anew. The conference will reportedly accept nominations by noon Sunday, with a candidate forum planned for Monday evening.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden on Friday asked Congress for an emergency national security funding package of聽$105聽billion for Ukraine, Israel, humanitarian aid for Gaza, and the U.S. southern border. The Senate could take up the measure as soon as next week, with Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer saying Thursday his chamber will 鈥渟pring into action鈥� to pass the request which would then, of course, send the package to the House. Also on the calendar is the approaching Nov. 17 deadline, when the federal government is set to run out of money.聽

But unless the House settles on a speaker, it will be unable to act on any issues, foreign or domestic.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in a very bad place right now,鈥� former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy聽told reporters聽Friday, in what can best be described as an understatement. 鈥淭his is getting chaotic.鈥�

Today鈥檚 speakership fight has its roots in a brinkmanship mentality that鈥檚 been increasingly dominant in the Republican party for decades 鈥� a mentality that has only been strengthened by a political moment of deep partisanship and narrow margins. And with a right wing of the GOP that鈥檚 been poised to fight as much with its own party establishment as the Democratic party, this moment,聽in some ways, seems inevitable.

The result, however 鈥� an unprecedented speakerless House that seems irrevocably divided 鈥撀爉ay be as close to an actual聽constitutional crisis聽as anything in recent memory, say some experts.聽

鈥淚t says in the Constitution that the House shall choose its speaker, and they鈥檙e not. They can鈥檛. They won鈥檛,鈥� says Matthew Green, an expert on the speakership at Catholic University in Washington. 鈥淭his is an inability to fulfill a core constitutional requirement. That seems like the definition of a constitutional crisis.鈥�

Battles that hint at deeper problems

The House has struggled to choose speakers before, with the mid-19th century coming first to historians鈥� minds. Of the speakership races that took the most ballots, the top three took place within the span of about 10 years, between 1849 and 1859. The record, set in 1855, took 133 ballots. These battles, of course, were 鈥渋ndicative of deeper problems,鈥� says Mr. Green, namely the issue of slavery that led to the Civil War.聽

The difference now, say experts, is that the House鈥檚 divide is not defined by one political issue but rather the idea of governance itself.聽聽

Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich pioneered the GOP鈥檚 鈥渨eaponization of the legislative branch鈥� in the 1990s, says Julian Zelizer, a congressional historian at Princeton University. This strategy has only been reiterated by the past decade鈥檚 debt ceiling crises, when sending the nation into default became a 鈥渟tandard threat鈥� of politics. This speaker chaos is an extension of that.

鈥淕overnment is just not a priority for the party right now,鈥� Professor Zelizer says. 鈥淎s a result, a lot of members are willing to live in this situation without a leader of a chamber of Congress as war is unfolding. That鈥檚 what makes this different. The normalization of this approach to government.鈥�

Take Thursday on Capitol Hill, for example.

Mr. Jordan announced his support for temporarily empowering acting Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry for the next month or two, a potential off-ramp to the current impasse which would give Mr. Jordan more time to try and flip remaining holdouts. Yet shortly after, several of his strongest supporters 鈥� some of them fellow members of the hard-line Freedom Caucus 鈥� announced they were adamantly against this idea.

鈥淩epublican voters worked too hard to give us the majority for us to enter some sort of temporary speakership,鈥� Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene told reporters Thursday. 鈥淭his conference is absolutely broken,鈥� said Rep. Taylor Greene, a former Freedom Caucus member.

But rather than opposing a temporary speakership on procedural grounds, the departure here between Mr. Jordan鈥檚 statement and the responses by 鈥淛ordaneers鈥� proves that the Ohio Republican鈥檚 speakership fight is a useful instrument in and of itself, says Liam Donovan, a former staffer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and now a lobbyist.聽

鈥淛ordan doesn鈥檛 want to lose, but if you are Jordan鈥檚 backers, you are fine with him losing if you get to kick and scream about the 鈥楧C cartel鈥� keeping conservatives from winning,鈥� says Mr. Donovan. 鈥淭hey are setting up options that only fulfill their narrative.鈥澛�

New hats in the ring

As of Friday afternoon, at least nine Republicans have jumped into 鈥� or are considering joining 鈥� the speaker race ahead of (yet another) candidate forum on Monday. Oklahoma Republican Kevin Hern, who previously considered a speaker run last week, announced that he will run, as did Georgia Republican Austin Scott, who ran a quixotic campaign in a closed door meeting last week. Other members reportedly running include: Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, Vice Conference Chair Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Freedom Caucus member Byron Donalds of Florida, and Texas Congressmen Jody Arrington and Pete Sessions.聽

Congressman Hern used his relatively low profile as a selling point, when talking to reporters Friday afternoon. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of historical relationships that some [lawmakers] are not going to ever be able to work around, and I don鈥檛 have those negatives out there.鈥�

This is the bet that some of these lower-profile candidates are making as they begin a weekend of phone calls to feel out support for their bid. Unlike House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (who was the GOP鈥檚 speaker-nominee earlier this week) or Mr. Jordan, they don鈥檛 have the same kind of relationship history with the conference that could thwart a campaign.

But the past few weeks have taken conference in-fighting to a new level. Not only has there been name-calling and social media unfollows, but some members have reported receiving death threats 鈥� both to themselves and family members 鈥� following their announcements that they would not support Mr. Jordan.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 just getting ugly,鈥� says Mr. Green.聽

What it will take for any candidate to emerge from these ashes with a winning majority remains unclear.

鈥淓ven if [the speakership] is solved in a month, it鈥檚 not as if all of this will go back to some default setting,鈥� says Mr. Zelizer. 鈥淭his is the new normal, and that鈥檚 what we have to put our minds around.鈥�