A search for new physics is performed using events with jets and the $M_{T2}$ variable, which is a measure of the transverse momentum imbalance in an event. Results are based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.2 fb$^{-1}$. No excess above the standard model background is observed. The results are interpreted as limits on the masses of potential new colored particles in a variety of simplified models of supersymmetry.