A number of Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) is willing to work with Democrats to keep outgoing House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from being replaced by Jim Jordan (R-OH), chair of the House Judiciary Committee. This article was published by NBC News. Jordan was selected as the conference’s nominee after Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) pulled his name from consideration. Notably, Donald Trump, a previous president, and Kevin McCarthy have endorsed Jordan.
To become the new House Speaker, Jordan needs 218 votes. Therefore, the possibility of just five Republicans voting against him could endanger his chances of winning.
A small group of Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Rogers, are reportedly opposing Jordan. Rogers had to be forcibly restrained after lunging at Rep. Gaetz during the initial Speaker votes this past January. According to a story from the Anniston Star, Rogers allegedly stated that “Jordan could do nothing to get his support as Speaker of the House.”
Rogers allegedly instructed Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to get in touch with potential concessions in attempt to negotiate a settlement after leaving a closed-door congressional meeting on Friday. According to Rogers, “They put us in this ditch with eight traitors.” “We’re still the majority party, we’re willing to work with them but they gotta tell us what they need.”
The story claims that Rogers called the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy “traitors” who had basically rendered the GOP conference inoperable.
Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Ann Wagner (R-MO) are among the numerous Republicans who have made it clear that they would not support Jordan’s campaign, according to NBC News.
Rogers has been under fire from conservative figures like Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) for his opposition to Jordan. In a post, Lee expressed his displeasure over Rogers and some House Republicans who prefer working with Democrats despite Jordan’s nomination and backing from McCarthy and McHenry. Republicans in the House were asked to support Jordan over Hakeem Jeffries.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) demanded that more votes be held in open session so that Republican voters may participate in transparency and voice their concerns. “You guys want to go 15 rounds? Fine. Let’s do it. On the floor. For the country to see. This Monday,” the freshman congresswoman said.
“You want to explain to your voters why you blocked Jordan? Then bring it.. because from the calls I’m getting, they are asking me what’s going on,” she continued. “I have an infant son and I spent the last week up in Washington trying to figure this out while members of Congress LEFT.”
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In addition to former President Trump’s support, Jim Jordan has received the support of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who informed reporters that he will do so. “We’ve gotta get this back on track, we’ve got to solve this problem,” McCarthy told reporters on Friday. “I think we’re on a path now to do that. They were wanting to debate a-lot of different things. They said, ‘let’s move through this, let’s have a good debate.’”
“They tried to make a motion in there to bring me back and I just told them, ‘no, let’s not do that. Let’s walk through this and have an election,’” he continued. “And I think Jim Jordan would do an excellent job.”
McCarthy asserts that he is convinced Jordan will receive the required 218 votes and be elected Speaker.
Jordan has received the explicit support of Representative Austin Scott (R-GA), a strong ally of McCarthy and a leading candidate in the second GOP conference vote. He is requesting that those Republicans who supported him support Jordan as well.
“I highly respect Jim Jordan. He is an asset to the Republican Party and our nominee for Speaker,” Scott wrote in an X post on Friday. “Our conference has spoken, and now we must unite behind Jordan so we can get Congress back to work.”
On Monday night, Republicans will assess their performance before voting on the floor on Tuesday.
