Jordan Makes His Case Ahead of Third Speaker Vote

Leah Barkoukis | October 20, 2023 9:05 AM

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said in a press conference on Friday he is not giving up the fight to become speaker of the House, despite opposition he faces from some Republican holdouts.

Jordan began by recalling a tour he once took of the Wright brothers’ home, which began with an image of the first flight in 1903 and ended with a photo from 44 years later of Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier.

“Why did they stop there?” he wondered. “In one lifetime, we went from two guys flying a hundred feet to putting a man on the moon. It is a great country, a great country, the greatest country in my judgment, made up of great people and those people, I think, are starting to doubt and wonder about their government and about where our nation is headed.”

Americans, Jordan continued, are concerned about the border crisis, inflation, war in the Middle East and Ukraine, a weaponized government, and crime.

“I think the American people are thirsty for change, I think they are hungry for leadership, and frankly they know that the White house can’t provide it, they know the Senate won’t lead, and they are looking for House Republicans to step up and lead and make changes on these important issues,” he said.

“We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key elements of our government are funded and funded in the right way, particularly our military. We need to get back to our committee work. And frankly, we need to continue the oversight work that I think is so darn important,” the Ohio Republican continued.

“We need to get to work for the American people. We need to do what we said we were going to do. We need to do what we told them we were going to do when they elected us and put us in office and, frankly, we can’t do that if the House isn’t open. We can’t open the House until we get a speaker,” Jordan added.

🚨 BREAKING: Jim Jordan holds a press conference ahead of a third floor vote for Speaker of the House.

“The quickest way to get all this working is to get a Speaker elected. That’s what I hope we can do today” pic.twitter.com/xXjEdbGlx5
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 20, 2023

A third speaker vote, which is expected Friday after the House reconvenes at 10 a.m., comes after he lost 22 GOP votes on the second ballot, and 20 Republican votes on the first.