Tipsheet

Ahead of Tuesday's Speaker Vote, Here's Who Is Supporting Jim Jordan for Speaker

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  October 16, 2023 6:00 AM

This piece has been updated to reflect public support from Republican House members as it comes in, including from those members who had once been holdouts.

On Tuesday afternoon, the House is set to vote on who to replace Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) with as Speaker of the House. McCarthy was ousted earlier this month when eight Republicans joined with all Democrats to remove him after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate the chair. It's been close to two weeks, and it's time for the House to have a speaker. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) received the nomination last Wednesday, but withdrew his name before a vote could even take place, since he didn't have the necessary 217 votes to win on the House floor. Last Friday, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) received the nomination. Though he didn't receive that magic number of 217, he at least got more votes than Scalise did.

Through social media posts, interviews, and reports, Townhall has tallied that support heading into Tuesday's vote, not just it comes to voting House members, but also senators, media personalities, and even former and potentially future President Donald Trump.

This list also includes those who indicated they're at least open to supporting Jordan, as well as those who said they will support the nominee, which is now Jordan.

As of early Monday afternoon, Jordan has the support of what looks to be at least 140 House Republicans, in no partcular order, including:

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Jordan spoke to some of that support with CNN's Manu Raju, including from Wagner and Rogers, who he praised, saying it "was really big" and "I feel good about the momentum we have," indicating "we're real close."

He also stressed they will still go to the floor on Tuesday at noon. "That's how our great system works, and we will go to the floor tomorrow," Jordan said. "It's not about pressuring anyone. It's about--we gotta have a speaker. You can't open the House and do the work of the American people and help our dearest and closest friend Israel, if you don't have a speaker. So, we get the speaker, we get the House open, and we get to work on the resolution and supplemental for Israel and we get back to work for the American people, and that's what I'm committing to doing and I think it's going to happen tomorrow."

Although Jordan called getting 217 votes beforehand "ideal," he pointed out there may not be any way to get that in the room. 

Raju also pointed out that Jordan's allies are willing to go multiple ballot rounds, although he emphasized he believes "we're going to elect a speaker tomorrow."

Also on Monday afternoon, Jordan sent out a "Dear Colleagues" letter, addressing how "[t]he role of the Speaker is to bring all Republicans together." The conference will meet again on Monday night. 

The list above represents many different factions of the Republican Party, from members of the House Freedom Caucus, to those supporting previous candidates and/or names being floated for speaker, to moderates like those in the Problem Solvers Caucus, to those considered more MAGA. There's also many different states represented here.

Nearly all of the eight of the Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy have publicly indicated their support for Jordan, including not only Gaetz, but also Reps. Mace, Rosendale, Good, Biggs, Burchett, and Crane.

Jordan was also able to get 152 votes on Friday afternoon, so more support is likely there than what has been tallied for this article. This list is just the support that we know is there publicly for Jordan.

Others supporting Jordan, in addition to Trump as mentioned above, include Republican Sens. Ron Johnson (WI), JD Vance (OH), Mike Braun (IN), Rand Paul (KY), and Ted Cruz (TX). Ohio's Secretary of State Frank LaRose and businessman Bernie Moreno, both of whom are running in the Republican primary to challenge Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have likewise come out in support. Media personalities including Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, Dan Bongino, and Benny Johnson also support Jordan.

There is a sense of urgency for the House to once more have a speaker so as to be able to properly operate, especially when it comes to the continuing resolution (CR) soon running out, as well as Hamas' attack on Israel earlier this month.

There's still time between now and then to wrangle votes if Republicans who still control the chamber, albeit barely, actually want a Republican speaker picked by Republican members. Democrats won't vote for any Republican, as they've already nominated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). If they go with a compromise choice, who could very well be a Democrat, perhaps Jeffries, what good is their majority status then, for however long it lasts for?