Jim Jordan says he feels "really good" going into speaker's race
Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, said Monday morning he felt "really good" going into Tuesday's floor vote in the race to be the next speaker of the House, and by Monday evening, after the House GOP conference met, several Republicans echoed his optimism.
Rep. Tom Emmer, Republican of Minnesota, told reporters, "We're gonna have a speaker tomorrow," and he said it would be Jordan.
Jordan said Monday night, "I felt good walking into the conference. I feel even better now. We got a few more people we want to talk to, listen to, and then we'll have a vote tomorrow."
"When I left Friday, I told our colleagues, 'Look, we'll visit over the weekend. We'll talk about any concerns and listen to concerns you may have,'" Jordan exclusively told CBS News Monday morning. "I think none of those concerns are anything that we can't, we can't address, so I feel good about where we're at."
The Ohio Republican stayed in Washington over the weekend to meet with GOP lawmakers and make calls to shore up support. When the Republican conference went into recess Friday afternoon, Jordan had won the votes of 152 Republicans members by secret ballot, and 55 said they would not vote for him on the House floor. At the end of the weekend, there were still 10 to 20 holdouts, CBS News' Robert Costa reported.
Monday morning, his candidacy received a boost from House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama, who tweeted his endorsement on X. He said he had "two cordial, thoughtful, and productive conversations" with Jordan and said they agreed on the need to pass a strong defense bill, appropriations measures and the farm bill, which must be renewed every five years.
Asked if Rogers' backing could deliver more votes, Jordan called Rogers an "expert" and said he's been picking up support since Friday. Jordan said he was "visiting" with more GOP members Monday.
Jordan also picked up the endorsement of Rep. Ann Wagner, of Missouri, who previously vowed to vote against him.
"Jim Jordan and I spoke at length again this morning, and he has allayed my concerns about keeping the government open with conservative funding, the need for strong border security, our need for consistent international support in times of war and unrest, as well as the need for stronger protections against the scourge of human trafficking and child exploitation," Wagner said.
By the end of the day Monday, Jordan had won new endorsements of seven Republicans. There is still some opposition to his bid, but several Republicans expressed confidence that Jordan would win the speakership Tuesday, possibly not on the first round, but soon afterward.
Jordan sent a "dear colleagues" letter to convince any remaining holdouts that it would be far better to support him than to be forced to compromise with Democrats.
"[T]he differences between us and our Democrat colleagues vastly outweigh our internal divisions," he wrote.
He also noted that "frustrations with the treatment of Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise and the events of the past month" have been raised. "You've been honest and open, and I appreciate the candid conversations," Jordan said.
He also promised that he would make sure that there are "more Republican voices involved in our major decisions beyond the Five Families." This was a reference to the five groups in the GOP that hold the most power: The House Freedom Caucus, the Republican Study Committee, the Republican Main Street Caucus, the Republican Governance Group and the Problem Solvers Caucus, the Washington Post has noted. (And yes, the phrase "Five Families" alludes to the five mafia families in "The Godfather.")
Jordan needs 217 votes to secure the gavel. Asked if Jordan could reach that threshold, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters "yes."