The House GOP continues to plunge further into chaos as House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan's, R-Ohio, bid for the speakership stands on thin ice after 20 Republicans voted against him on the House floor on Tuesday. After abandoning plans to hold a second vote on Tuesday, the House made plans to hold another voting session early Wednesday afternoon, despite murmurs that Jordan with garner even fewer GOP votes than the previous day. "Just so there’s no surprises: Jordan will likely have FEWER votes today than yesterday — as I expected," tweeted Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. "This is the fight - which Jim Jordan represents - to end the status quo, and it ain’t easy…Stay strong and keep praying." Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told NBC that "Jordan is headed for defeat." He'll "fight to death likely, and we won't let off," Bacon added. "Their tactics angered us. They're harassing our spouses even. Jordan hit a brick wall."
Jordan over the weekend reportedly implemented bullying tactics and pressure campaigns to foment support from other Republicans, strategies which ostensibly backfired. Notably, 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. And Rep. Bacon's wife received anonymous text messages warning her that her husband's political career would suffer if he did not support Jordan's bid for the House speaker role. “Why is your husband causing chaos by not supporting Jim Jordan? I thought he was a team player," the unidentified messenger wrote. “Your husband will not hold any political office ever again. What a disappoint (sic) and failure he is.”Jordan shows no signs of backing down, either.
CNN reporter Melanie Zanona wrote in a Monday tweet that "Jim Jordan’s team is whipping supporters to vote against the resolution empowering interim speaker Patrick McHenry, sources tell CNN, which could come up as soon as today." A number of centrist Republicans are looking to temporarily empower McHenry as hopes of electing a permanent speaker fade, Politico reported. But some Jordan allies warn that it would be impossible to reach such a deal with only Republican votes. "The only way this is going to be viewed by the American people and most of my colleagues is a plan for a coalition government" with Democrats, Jordan ally Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told Politico's Olivia Beavers.
