Jordan tries to back out of vote after GOP opponents face "death threats" and "intimidation": report

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, may back out of a planned third vote on his speaker bid as opposition from holdout Republicans grows deeper amid a controversial intimidation campaign by his allies.

“Nearly everyone involved in the discussions with Team Jordan says the Ohio Republican doesn't want to go to the floor for a third vote” following a humiliating defeat that saw him lose votes on the second ballot on Wednesday, Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman reported on Thursday, noting that Jordan’s representatives have denied the claim.

Republican sources told CNN’s Manu Raju that Jordan is “bleeding votes and is poised to lose even more Republicans if he goes through with a third ballot today.”

“One GOP member who opposes Jordan says there are about 30 R no votes,” he tweeted. “It’s unclear if Jordan goes through with the noon vote.”

Opposition to Jordan’s bid stiffened in recent days after Republican holdouts complained of heavy-handed tactics by his supporters to pressure them into backing his bid.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said Wednesday that she received credible death threats by phone after switching her vote from Jordan to Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas.

“Since my vote in support of Chairwoman Granger, I have received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls. The proper authorities have been notified and my office is cooperating fully,” the congresswoman said in a statement.

“One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully,” she added. “Someone who threatens another with bodily harm or tries to suppress differing opinions undermines opportunity for unity and regard for freedom of speech.”

Jordan condemned the threats after the statement.

“No American should accost another for their beliefs,” he tweeted. “We condemn all threats against our colleagues and it is imperative that we come together. Stop. It’s abhorrent.”

Other holdout Republicans have also spoken up over the threats.

Granger herself tweeted that “intimidation and threats will not change my position.”

“I was a helicopter pilot in the United States Navy … threats and intimidation tactics will not change my principles and values,” echoed Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va.

Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., told The Washington Post that his staff had been “cussed out, they’ve been threatened. It’s been nonstop. Most of them are out-of-state calls.”

“It’s a matter of how you treat people. And frankly, based on what I’ve been through and what my staff has been through, it’s obvious what the strategy is: attack, attack, attack,” he said, adding that Jordan’s “tactics” had badly backfired.

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., told the Post that Jordan is “absolutely responsible for it.”

“And look, it doesn’t work. … Nobody likes to have their arm twisted,” he added.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., previously said that his wife received multiple anonymous texts and emails demanding he vote for Jordan.

“I believe he’s done. He needs to withdraw from this,” Bacon told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Wednesday. “He’s going to lose more votes tomorrow, I know it.”

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Bacon is among a growing number of Republicans pushing to delay the speaker election and temporarily empower acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., to work on a budget deal and aid for Ukraine and Israel.

House GOP leaders feel they can “no longer hold back members” who want to empower McHenry for about 80 days as they grow “desperate” to get back to work, PunchBowl News reported on Thursday. The resolution “would likely pass overwhelmingly” with a majority of Republican votes and possibly Democratic ones as well, according to the report.

Passing the resolution could serve as an off-ramp for Jordan too, the outlet reported, since it would allow him to effectively end his campaign for speaker without formally dropping out. He could then run again after McHenry’s term is up in January.

Still, such a move would almost certainly trigger a conservative freakout, the report added.

One of those conservatives, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, fumed over the plan on Wednesday, arguing that it “represents an unforgivable step to coalition government & likely decimation in 2024.”