Clearly exhausted House Republicans walked out of a closed session Tuesday night and announced Tuesday’s speaker election, despite deep opposition to speaker nominee Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). I tried to move forward with the vote.
“If Jim Jordan can’t get through, Jesus can’t get through. So we better understand this,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) told Fox News Digital after the meeting. “I think where we are now is we have to respect the rules of the House, and a leader will emerge.”
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) told Fox News Digital, “I don’t care why people put that in their heads, no matter what faction they are in the conference, why only one person can do that.” I don’t know if I’m thinking about it,” he said. It’s a good speaker. ”
“People say, ‘If you don’t support my players, I won’t support your players. I don’t understand that,'” Barr said.
Mr. Jordan won the nomination for House Republican speaker in a closed and anonymous vote on Friday, but there were at least 55 Republicans on the House floor at the time who did not intend to vote for him.
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House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) aims to hold a vote on the House speaker election on Tuesday.
He succeeded in reducing their numbers significantly. But after last week’s secret vote, Jordan’s opposition became clearer, with lawmakers publicly voicing their concerns about him, albeit on a smaller scale. These opponents can be problematic. If all members attend, Jordan would only need to lose four Republican votes to win the speaker’s seat.
Meanwhile, the House has been paralyzed in the nearly two weeks since former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted by eight members of his own party and all House Democrats.
Jordan himself told reporters Monday night, “I felt good going into the press conference. I feel even better now.”
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However, some members expressed dissatisfaction with how the entire process went and suggested that opposing Jordan on Tuesday was enough. This comes after Jordan and his allies were accused of running a pressure campaign against the holdouts over the weekend.
“If people think they can pressure me, that’s where they’re going to lose me,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, told reporters after the meeting. Diaz-Balart said she would vote for Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), at least on the first ballot.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from his position earlier this month. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Scalise was named the first House Republican speaker until he was forced to resign due to opposition from Jordan supporters.
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pennsylvania) was outraged by Scalise’s treatment and said he too would vote for the Louisiana Republican.
“When you look at what is happening in that meeting and understand that there was an election and they elected someone to be the chairperson, and the participants in that meeting did not agree to the election, no, no, no, I Do we have to stop everything and hold another election? ” Kelly said. “The real man in that room was Steve Scalise.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) said he was “leaning” to vote for McCarthy on Tuesday. Like Diaz-Balart, he also indicated that he was frustrated by the pressure from Jordan and his allies.
House Republicans select Jordan as speaker candidate, boosts vote across the chamber
“The problem is when you have people who break the rules, they ask you to cooperate and they put us in a corner. Some people just don’t make it,” Bacon said. “Ordinary Americans, I think, we believe in justice. We believe in fairness and the rule of law…The vast majority of us have been trampled on by this. And I think… I’m not going to accept that.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) similarly said he would support Mr. McCarthy as speaker candidate on Tuesday, a position he has held since being ousted by the California Republican.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) is one of the opponents to Jordan.
Meanwhile, Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), one of the eight Republicans who voted to defeat McCarthy, criticized Jordan’s opposition to the 2020 election results and his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack. He said that still needs to be resolved.
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“Jim will be visiting after this meeting,” Buck said. “Right now my answer is no, but I told him I would be open to that conversation.”
One Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital that it may take “several rounds” for Jordan to win the majority he needs to be speaker, but he is confident in his ability to do it.
“There are some challenges, but we need to address this tonight and tomorrow morning, and we have a lot of powerful people on our side,” he said. “It might take a few votes, it might not be decided on the first vote, but I think he’s fine with that.”
