Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) confirmed his commitment to pursue the House speakership, revealing ongoing discussions with the 22 Republican defectors who voted against him. He stated, “Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible so we can help the American people.”
He continued, “I got 200 votes, the speaker designee, from my colleagues. The sooner we can get this accomplished, the better for the American people who expect us to work for them and for our friends and allies.”
Jordan faced defeats in three floor votes for the speakership on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
The House has remained leaderless for 17 days following the removal of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), which was prompted by Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-FL) motion to vacate.
In his first floor vote, Jordan faced unexpected opposition with 20 GOP defectors, surpassing his team’s estimates.
Jordan has been actively trying to persuade the holdouts to back him. During his second vote, two defectors changed their stance to support him, but four members who initially voted for him switched to vote against him.
Furthermore, those who opposed Jordan in the votes have reported receiving threatening messages and credible death threats, not only directed at them but also at their families. They remain steadfast, emphasizing that they won’t be influenced by bullying or threats.
One of the defectors, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), whose district was won by President Joe Biden in 2020, making it vulnerable in 2024, shared his prediction with Politico, saying, “I think he’s probably going to lose a handful more votes.”
As the speaker battle continues without a clear resolution, a supporter of Jordan, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), has left the country. He reportedly traveled to Israel for a fact-finding mission.
Jordan urged Congress to “get to work” and highlighted the Middle East crisis and the upcoming government funding deadline on November 17.
He said, “We’ve got important work to do, important work to do. We need to help Israel. We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key elements of our government are funded and funded in the right way, particularly our military.”
🚨 JUST IN: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) holds a press conference ahead of a third floor vote for Speaker of the House.
“The quickest way to get all this working is to get a Speaker elected.
That’s what I hope we can do.”
JIM JORDAN FOR SPEAKER! 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/w3lnLjkEMA
— Proud Elephant 🇺🇸🦅 (@ProudElephantUS) October 20, 2023
