A Republican congressman says he's facing retaliation — including receiving an eviction letter for an office in his home state — for refusing to back Rep Jim Jordan's attempts to be House speaker.
Congressman Ken Buck of said the landlord who owns his office in Windsor, a town in north-central Colorado, terminated their contract after he voted against Mr Jordan.
“I have notice of an eviction because the landlord is mad with my voting record on the speaker issue," Mr Buck told NBC News on Thursday.
Eight Republican representatives, led by Congressman Matt Gaetz, voted with Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the House on October 3. The move, which was condemned by much of the congressional GOP, left the House in disarray.
House Republicans have yet to coalesce around a new speaker. Congressman Steve Scalise attempted a run, but could not gather the support. Mr Jordan — Donald Trump's favoured candidate — has also tried, but has failed three times.
Mr Buck said his vote against Mr Jordan earned him multiple death threats and about 20,000 angry voicemails.
“Right now is this constant barrage of phone calls, we have — I have six full-time people answering the phones,” he told NBC News.
Mr Buck said he is not the only House Republican to vote against Mr Jordan and face the wrath of MAGA constituents, with GOP representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Drew Ferguson and Don Bacon also reportedly having received threats for refusing to back Mr Jordan.
“Everybody in the conference is getting this,” Mr Buck continued. “Family members have been approached and threatened. All kinds of things are going on.
“I think the best move is for Jim to withdraw at this point,” he added. “I think he may need another vote to be convinced that he’s not going to get there, which is fine. He was the nominee. The conference should give him that respect. But I think at some point, we need to move on and find the 217 votes for a plan.”
