Jordan ally Dan Crenshaw warns “high-pressure campaign” could backfire on MAGA Republicans.
Between 20 to 40 House Republicans may vote against House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s, R-Ohio, speaker bid, a senior Republican lawmaker told CNN.
Jordan eked out an internal win from House Republicans on Friday after finishing behind Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., earlier in the week. Scalise won a GOP majority in a caucus vote but elected to withdraw on Thursday after realizing his chances at winning the speakership were fruitless.
An unidentified senior Republican told CNN that there could be up to 40 “no” votes if Jordan’s bid is put to a floor vote on Tuesday.
“The approximately 20 I’ve talked to know we must be prepared,” the Republican said. “We cannot let the small group dictate to the whole group. They want a minority of the majority to dictate and as a red-blooded American I refuse to be a victim.
“I know of many hard nos,” the lawmaker added. “We can’t reward this behavior. We can’t let a small group be dictators.”
Rep. Wily Nickel, D-N.C., told the publication Semafor that Jordan’s attempt to secure the speakership will likely “go down in flames.”
“I think they’re going to go down in flames on that because there’s just no way that Jim Jordan, with Donald Trump’s support, gets to 217 or 218 votes in the House,” Nickel said.
