“Approximately” 20 Republicans plot to block Jim Jordan amid the “dumbest” pressure campaign

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. 

“Wiley is backing a plan that would temporarily expand McHenry’s authority in the House for 15-day increments, and direct him to only bring legislation to the floor that would avoid a government shutdown in November, provide aid to Israel and Ukraine, and deal with the remaining 2024 appropriations bills,” Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports. “They’re also asking McHenry be allowed to introduce so-called suspension bills — which are allowed to head straight to the House floor — ‘evenly distributed’ between Democratic and Republican priorities, to avoid legislation being held up in the GOP-led Rules Committee.”

However, another Republican source familiar with the matter indicated that Jordan’s chances at winning the election are favorable, asserting that the Ohioan has had constructive chats with other House members. 

Jordan allies sought to twist the arms of reluctant Republicans over the weekend. Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke, on Sunday shared an email she was given that showed how a representative from Fox News host Sean Hannity’s show asked officials to explain why they weren’t in favor of Jordan. 

“Sources tell Hannity that Rep xxxx is not supporting Rep Jim Jordan for speaker,” the correspondence reads. “Can you please let me know if this is accurate? And, if true, Hannity would like to know why during a war breaking out between Israel and Hamas, with the war in Ukraine, with the wide open borders, with a budget that’s unfinished why would Rep. xxxx be against Jim Jordan for speaker? Please let us know when Rep xxx plans on opening the People’s House so work can be done. Lastly, are there any conditions Rep xxxx will work with Democrats on the process of electing a new speaker? The deadline for comment is 11 AM tomorrow 10/16. Thank you.”

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, is supporting Jordan’s bid for speakership but warned on CNN’s State of the Union with Jake Tapper, that the “high-pressure campaign” strategy used by other House Republicans who are supporting Jordan could backfire.

“What I would really recommend to Jordan’s allies too, is a lot of them have mounted this high-pressure campaign,” Crenshaw told Tapper on Sunday. “They’re going to whip up Twitter against the people who are against Jordan.”

“That is the dumbest way to support Jordan, and I’m supporting Jordan,” Crenshaw added. “I’m going to vote for Jordan. And as somebody who wants Jim Jordan, the dumbest thing you can do is to continue pissing off those people and entrench them.”