On Sunday, Representative Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) expressed his belief that Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is on track to gather the necessary votes to secure the position of Speaker as the House approaches nearly two weeks without a leader.
Approximately two weeks ago, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led the effort to remove McCarthy from his position. Since then, House Republicans have grappled with finding a consensus for a new Speaker. However, McCarthy is optimistic about Jordan’s ability to garner the required support to lead the House.
Speaking on “Sunday Morning Futures,” McCarthy defended his decision to collaborate with Democrats to fund the government, even though it cost him his job, saying, “What I did was right. And I have lost my job over that. That’s okay because we cannot have this Gaetz doctrine continue any further. Look, I think Jim Jordan can get there. I understand how difficult it is.”
McCarthy added, “I did walk in with more support during this time, but I believe Jim can get there at the end of the day. And I’m doing everything I can to help him become Speaker.”
When questioned about whether Jordan had secured the necessary votes, McCarthy acknowledged that he had not yet achieved that goal but emphasized his commitment to ensuring the full backing of the conference.
McCarthy elaborated, “I had a conversation with Jim last night. He’s actively engaging with every member, carefully evaluating their concerns. However, our paramount objective is to foster collaboration.
The actual hurdle lies in the fact that eight Republicans did the unexpected by collaborating with every Democrat, causing disruption to our nation and attempting to unseat me from the Speaker’s position.”
He replied, “So it has taught people that, why don’t you just work with Democrats and disrupt the government? This historic tactic of Republicans voting with Democrats against their party is a serious mistake these eight GOP members have made.”
In a recent development, House Republicans nominated Jordan for Speaker on Friday during their second attempt to propose a candidate on the House floor. Jordan secured the nomination with a vote of 152-55, falling short of the 217 votes required to become Speaker.
The No. 2 House Republican, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), had narrowly defeated Jordan for the Speaker nomination in a previous vote but withdrew from the race when it became clear he lacked the necessary floor votes for election.
