House Republicans have now been Speaker-less for 20 days.
In case you missed last week’s turn of events in the ongoing Speaker race, here’s a quick recap:
As you likely know, I proudly endorsed House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) for Speaker of the House on October 6th. One week later, Jordan became our Speaker-Designate after earning a large majority of House Republicans' support to become our Conference’s candidate.
Last Tuesday, we brought the Speaker race to the House floor, hoping to elect Jim Jordan as the 56th Speaker of the House. However, on the first ballot, Speaker-Designate Jordan only received 200 votes — short of the 217 needed to win — because 20 Republicans voted against him. More Republicans joined against Jordan on the next two votes, totaling 25 “no” votes on the third ballot.
Why did these Republicans vote against Jim Jordan — one of the most popular conservatives in the country?
The truth is, these 25 House Republicans were terrified of changing Washington. Many faced intense pressure from their lobbyist friends, as these powerful elites feared how the Swamp would operate under a potential Speaker Jordan. In other words, these Republicans weren’t voting for their constituents; they were voting for themselves.
Far too many people on both sides of the aisle are addicted to power here in D.C. For decades, Washington has enriched bureaucrats, politicians, and lobbyists instead of actually helping the American people. And ultimately, a vote for Speaker-Designate Jim Jordan was a vote to finally correct this system — a vote to drain the Swamp. Yet 25 Republicans, consumed by anger, bitterness, and spite, selfishly voted to save the Swamp instead.
Rather than showing their true colors by admitting the real reason for opposing Jim Jordan, these Republicans claimed they were bullied by Jordan and his allies. Folks, let me be clear: Jim Jordan has never been a bully. In reality, these lawmakers faced impressive outreach from their constituents, pleading with their U.S. Representative to support Speaker-Designate Jordan — which is exactly how a representative democracy works.
Unfortunately, some of this pressure did get out of hand, as a few lawmakers allegedly received threats. While I forcefully condemn all violent and hateful rhetoric against my colleagues, I completely disagree with blaming Jim Jordan for these abhorrent acts. Yet many of these lawmakers pushed this absurd red herring rather than revealing the true cause of their dissent.
As you likely know, Jordan’s opponents refused to reverse course. After three failed ballots, the House Republican Conference met in a closed-door meeting to vote on whether Jim Jordan should remain our Speaker-Designate. In the end, 112 Republicans anonymously voted to move on to another candidate.
While I’m incredibly disappointed by this outcome, I’m hopeful for what’s ahead. After all, fighting for the American people and against the Swamp has never been easy — but I’ll never stop fighting.
The battle continues this week, as House Republicans plan to hear from each of the nine new candidates and vote for Speaker in the coming days. While we’re back to square one, please know that I remain committed to supporting the most conservative candidate who can garner 217 Republican votes.
