Unhinged
Things are getting out of hand in the House. There are reports that some supporters who want to see Jim Jordan become the next speaker are so aggressively looking for the votes to make it happen that there are texts going out that are unduly ugly and threatening. Wednesday night the news broke that Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from Iowa, received death threats.
Miller-Meeks is in her second term in the House. She backed Jordan Tuesday. By Wednesday she switched her support to House Appropriations Chairman Kay Granger (R-TX). Granger isn’t running for speaker but she has led opposition to Jordan. She supports Steve Scalise, the House Majority Leader, for speaker.
She posted her reasons for no longer supporting Jordan on X. Jordan’s backers, she said, including members of the House, increased “threatening tactics” after Tuesday’s vote when Jordan fell short of gathering enough votes on the floor. She was given assurances that the threats would stop but they did not. The threats took a dark turn after the vote on Wednesday.
Miller-Meeks made a report to the authorities after receiving “credible death threats” and “a barrage of threatening calls.” She said she does not cave to bullies. Republicans need a consensus candidate, she said.
The Office of Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks has released the following statement:https://t.co/7l2EkLagx4 pic.twitter.com/R8mUPQ6RRW
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (@RepMMM) October 18, 2023
Her full statement is compelling. She originally voted for Jordan for the greater good of the Republican Party in the House, she explained.
