A Republican opposing Steve Scalise, the party’s pick for US House speaker, claimed Democrats trusted Jim Jordan, the hard-right Ohioan Scalise defeated in an internal vote on Wednesday.
“I think Jim Jordan is not out of the mix,” Nancy Mace of South Carolina told CNN on Wednesday night. “I have talked to a lot of people who still support him. I have actually talked to Democrats who trust him at his word. I don’t think that’s out of the realm of possibility.”
Her host, Jake Tapper, said: “Jim Jordan? … The Jim Jordan from Ohio?”
Jake Tapper isn't buying Nancy Mace's claim that she's talked to a bunch of Democrats who say they believe they can work with Jim Jordan.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) October 11, 2023
"Democrats in Congress? Name one Democrat from Congress that trusts Jim Jordan?"
Mace: "I'm not going to name people off the record" pic.twitter.com/qpnApaRuLd
A founder of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, Jordan has long been a thorn in the side for Democrats, Democratic presidents and his own party. He also supported Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election and refused to co-operate with the House January 6 committee.
Jordan’s bid for speaker was endorsed by Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner, but suffered a blow on Wednesday with the internal vote. Jordan said he would support Scalise but party leaders can only afford to lose four votes if they are to confirm their choice. In the aftermath of Scalise’s win, it was clear he did not have sufficient support.
The last speaker, Kevin McCarthy, was forced through 15 votes before rightwingers relented. McCarthy was ejected last week, an effort led by Matt Gaetz of Florida. Gaetz now backs Scalise. But Mace, who drew criticism for wearing a “scarlet letter” round Congress, claiming she was being stigmatised after voting out McCarthy, was among the holdouts.
She told CNN: “I talked to Democrats over the last week on, who do they trust? Even though they wouldn’t agree with [Jordan] on many issues, he is someone they can –”
Tapper said: “The Jim Jordan from Ohio?”
Mace said: “Oh yes, the Jim Jordan from Ohio.”
Tapper said: “Democrats in Congress?”
Mace said: “I have talked to people – yes, they can work with him. And those that I talked to – ”
Tapper challenged her to “name one Democrat from Congress that trusts Jim Jordan”.
“I’m not going to name people off the record,” Mace said. “They trust him more than they trust the former speaker [McCarthy] in my private conversations with Democrats. I will say that.”
Tapper said: “OK. I’m not sure I’m buying the thing about Democrats trusting Jim Jordan.”
Mace said she was “not saying they’re going to vote for him, I’m saying they trust him more than they trust” McCarthy.
Tapper said: “Well that’s not really a high bar now, is it?”
Last weekend, Mace was criticised for failing to clear a low bar: even acknowledging the scandal that has dogged Jordan over his time as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University while athletes were sexually abused by a doctor. Jordan denies knowing of the abuse, of hundreds of wrestlers, or helping cover it up.
Speaking to CBS, Mace said she knew nothing about the scandal. On CNN, Tapper asked her if she had since “read up”.
She said: “Oh, I have since learned a little bit more. And … these were, I guess, adults. This is something that should have been adjudicated in a court of law. I don’t know that it has been.”
Jordan refused to take part in an official investigation. OSU has paid out $60m to 296 victims. Other lawsuits remain unresolved.
Mace said: “We can’t make decisions based on rumors. We should make them based on facts. I do want to move our country forward. I want a leader that we can trust and who’s going to work hard for the American people and can bring even in some cases both sides together on different issues.”
Tapper said: “There are grown men who today are saying Jim Jordan knew about this doctor who was molesting them and he’s a liar and he shouldn’t be speaker.”
One such man, Mike Schyck, told NBC: “Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys? Is that the kind of character trait you want for a House speaker?”
