Conservatives demand House STAYS in Washington and cancel recess until the speaker fiasco is fixed - as House reaches 20 days with the seat still empty

House conservatives are demanding that Congress remain in Washington until the speaker's debacle is solved - a prospect that would be sure to stir up tensions among lawmakers who have not spent extended stays in their districts since early September. 

The right-wing, 60-member House Freedom Caucus put out a notice entitled 'no speaker, no recess' where it urged leadership to cancel the upcoming two-week recess if no speaker has been elected. 

'Republican leadership should have kept Republicans in Washington over the weekend. Our work is not done,' the letter read. 

'In fact, we are starting at ground zero after Jim Jordan, arguably one of the most popular Republicans in the country, was rejected by House Republicans.'

House Republicans broke on Friday for the weekend after Judiciary Chairman Jordan's nomination fell apart - after opposition only grew with three floor votes over the week.

Hern handed out hamburgers along with a flyer touting himself for speaker

Sessions handed out flyers touting himself as the person suited to 'unite the conference' and help expand the House majority - noting he lead the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) when the GOP picked up 63 seats in 2010

After that, the conference held a secret ballot vote where 112 Republicans voted against keeping Jordan as their nominee and 86 voted for it. 

Jordan was the second candidate to bow out since McCarthy's ouster: Majority Leader Steve Scalise originally won the nomination but dropped when he realized he would not sway enough right-wing Freedom Caucus members in his favor. 

Any Republican who wants the top job can only afford to lose four votes on the House floor.

On Monday evening they will return for a candidate forum where nine lawmakers will make their pitch for the top job. 

Some Republicans were angry that the conference would take the weekend before moving toward a new speaker. Others were eager to return home after a full five days in Washington. 

'Move, get out of the way, some of us have to catch flights!' Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., shouted at reporters after a meeting where it was announced there would be no weekend votes.  

Over the weekend the nine candidates focused on making calls and drumming up support.

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the House's number three Republican, is a favorite in the race. He has the endorsement of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Rep. Byron Donalds, a Freedom Caucus member, has also drummed up support. 

After Donald Trump's allies floated Friday that the former president was no fan of Emmer, the whip hopped on a call with Trump where he allegedly kissed the ring. 

'I think he's my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday. He told me, "I'm your biggest fan." So I don't know about that. We're looking at a lot of people, and you know sort of trying to stay out of that as much as possible,' Trump told reporters of the call. 

The nine GOP candidates for House speaker have the tough task of securing 217 GOP votes on the floor to become the next leader of the House Republicans

Trump said it might only be Jesus Christ who could notch a guaranteed win. 

'I said there's only one person who could do it all the way. You know who that is? Jesus Christ. If he came down and said I want to be speaker he could do it, other then that, I haven't seen anybody that can guarantee it. But at some point I think we're going to ahve somebody pretty soon.'

On Tuesday, the GOP conference will then vote. Each round, the lowest vote-getter will be eliminated, until they come out of the final round with a winner. 

Other candidates in the race include Rep. Kevin Hern, chair of the Republican Study Committee, Rep. Mike Johnson, vice chair of the GOP conference, Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer, who leads the Republican Policy Committee, Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., who challenged Jordan last week, Michigan Republican Rep. Jack Bergman, and Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser.

Hern, who also spoke with Trump, distributed a handout along with McDonald's hamburgers to House offices where he emphasized the need for leadership to tackle spending cuts and border crossings. 

Sessions handed out flyers touting himself as the person suited to 'unite the conference' and help expand the House majority - noting he lead the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) when the GOP picked up 63 seats in 2010.