House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., needs 218 votes to become the next speaker of the House and he has yet to reach that threshold.
With the day of reckoning coming next week when the new Republican-led House of Representatives convenes, there are five GOP lawmakers holding out and that’s more than enough given that the party only holds a 4 seat majority. Chief among the five conservative lawmakers opposing McCarthy’s ascent is U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who has been adamant that McCarthy will not become speaker.
On Christmas Eve, Gaetz addressed the one problem the holdouts face — offering a viable alternative to McCarthy.
“All I want for Christmas is @Jim_Jordan to realize he should be Speaker of the House!” Gaetz tweeted.
All I want for Christmas is @Jim_Jordan to realize he should be Speaker of the House!
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 24, 2022
This is not the first time Gaetz has mentioned U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, being the “best” option the GOP has for speaker of the House.
“For my money, the best person to be speaker of the House would be Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio,” he told Fox News in August. “Our base trusts him. He’s the hardest working, most talented member.”
As for Jordan, who is expected to serve as the next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, he has thus far played ball with current leadership as seen in his remarks during a Fox News Radio interview last month.
“The guy who gets you to the Super Bowl, even if it’s a game in overtime, gets to coach the game,” Jordan said.
Gaetz penned a scathing op-ed last week making his case, holding the GOP’s slim margin against McCarthy to say the minority leader “failed in his duties to deliver a resounding House majority.”
“Every single Republican in Congress knows that Kevin does not actually believe anything. He has no ideology,” Gaetz wrote. “Some conservatives are using this fact to convince themselves that he is the right leader for the moment, as McCarthy is so weak he’ll promise anything to anyone. As his mentor recently confessed, ‘He lies. He’ll change the lie if necessary.’”
Turns out, Jordan, who has a stellar reputation for standing up to Democrat shenanigans during committee hearings, is a popular option for speaker… here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from Twitter:
Matt I agree 150% I love that man, he is honest, hard working, he loves America! Please @Jim_Jordan consider doing this job for the people!! We need a man of integrity in this position it would bring back faith in our system we would finally have someone we could trust
— Cheryl (@Cziggy218Cheryl) December 24, 2022
Now we’re talking!!! I could agree more!!!!
— MiaGirl24 (@Marley242424) December 24, 2022
@Jim_Jordan for Speaker of the House YES PLEASE!!
— Proud Army Mom (@momofarmympvet) December 25, 2022
Yes! A thousand times yes!
— Nick Kupper (@KupperNick) December 24, 2022
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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