Following House Republicans’ decision to nominate Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for the open speaker position, one Mississippi congressman does not necessarily think Jordan will have enough support when all parties take the floor for a full vote.
Rep. Michael Guest, during an appearance on MidDays with Gerard Gibert, explained that Jordan might have gotten enough votes from their GOP counterparts to get the initial nod. However, he still faces the same battle that spurred Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s exit from the race – swaying enough Republicans to support him during the upcoming floor vote.
“With the narrow majority, all it takes is five Republican members who would be voting in line with the Democrats to deny Jim Jordan,” Guest said, while also vowing to support Jordan.
Jordan, a Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy endorsee who is expected to receive no support from Democrats, has spent the weekend trying to convince Republicans on the fence to give him their votes. Needing 217 total votes, a handful of the 221 GOP representatives have already said they will not support Jordan’s bid for the chamber’s highest position.
“I know there are several members who have publicly stated that they will not support Jordan, several others who have said they are on the fence of whether they will support Jordan, and probably others who have not announced one way or another,” Guest continued.
Rep. Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who served as vice chair of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 attack investigating Trump, is one of the representatives not in favor of Jordan’s ascension.
Cheney went to Twitter/X prior to the GOP vote to dissuade fellow party members from supporting Jordan, pointing to Jordan’s alleged request of former Vice President Mike Pence to block the Electoral College certification of Democrat President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.
“Jim Jordan was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to steal the election and seize power; he urged that Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes,” Cheney wrote. “If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority, and they’ll deserve to.”
Other Republicans who have publicly stated that Jordan will not receive their votes are Mike Rogers of Alabama and John Rutherford and Carlos Gimenez of Florida, according to Politico. Nevertheless, Jordan believes he will have the necessary votes by Tuesday night.
“We think we’re going to get to 217,” Jordan told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, House Democrats continue to rally behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. At the time of this article’s publication, the House had been without a speaker for just over 12 days as a possible mid-November government shutdown looms and conflict involving U.S. ally Israel continues in the Middle East.
