House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s, R-Ohio, speaker bid appears to be on life support Wednesday morning after 20 Republicans voted against him on the House floor Tuesday despite a fierce pressure campaign by his allies.
Jordan failed to get the 217 votes he needed to become speaker during a vote on Tuesday. After scrapping plans for a second vote Tuesday evening, he said the House is expected to hold another vote Wednesday at 11 am despite reports that even more Republicans may defect on the second ballot.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who voted against Jordan, told Politico that he faced strong pressure from Jordan’s supporters.
“Jim’s been nice, one-on-one, but his broader team has been playing hardball,” he told the outlet.
Bacon’s wife told Politico’s Olivia Beavers that she received multiple anonymous emails and texts from people demanding her husband back Jordan.
“Your husband will not hold any political office ever again,” one message read.
Other Republicans similarly told Politico they “received a barrage of calls from local conservative leaders,” though they blamed the onslaught on Jordan’s supporters rather than the congressman himself. Other Republicans have referred to the tactics as “bullying.”
Even Jordan ally Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., admitted he thinks the tactics came back to bite Jordan.
“I think some of the pressure campaigns have backfired,” he told Fox News on Tuesday, citing conversations with fellow members who said “they felt that.”
“They have not worked,” he said. “And so, I think that right now under the leadership of Jim Jordan, I would request that people just take a break, take a pause, let the members work and figure this out amongst ourselves so we can elect Jim Jordan as Speaker, and then we can get back to the work that we have to do.”
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Jordan on Tuesday vowed to “keep working” to “get the votes” ahead of a likely vote Wednesday morning but one anonymous House Republican warned to Politico that Jordan and his lieutenants are “calling people who voted for him trying to stop the bleeding” but were “pissing off” members rather than willing them over.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who voted for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Tuesday, told Politico that the “pressure tactics” only made him double down on his position.
”He supposedly said ‘stand down’ and they haven’t stood down. Leaders are followed,” he told Politico.
“The one thing that will never work with me — if you try to pressure me, if you try to threaten me, then I shut off,” Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, R-Fla., agreed.
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Numerous Jordan backers in conservative media have also sought to pressure Republicans to back him while attacking potential rivals. Fox News host Sean Hannity’s staff has specifically targeted members that oppose his bid.
“He’s lost support because of this,” an unidentified House Republican told Politico. “Constant smears — it’s just dishonesty at its core.”
Some members who voted for Jordan have suggested privately that they may switch their votes on the second or third ballots. Some moderates have suggested that the more likely outcome is not a Jordan speakership but a vote to empower acting Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., though it’s unclear if that would succeed with just Republican votes.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said after Tuesday’s failed vote that she feels “sad for the institution.”
“I think it’s sad that they’re getting worse and worse,” she told HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery. "They should take a lesson in mathematics and learn how to count.”
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