It seems like it’s Groundhog Day again in Congress. This is the third week without a Speaker of the House and there is still no viable path forward. After Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) withdrawal from the race, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was selected to be the GOP nominee. With only 124 Republicans out of 221 voting in favor of Rep. Jordan in the closed-door conference, he had a lot of work to do to win over the holdouts.
After taking a long weekend to meet with Members voting against him, Rep. Jordan requested a floor vote on Tuesday. News of hardline votes flipping in favor of Rep. Jordan was trickling in. When House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) who is known as a “moderate” announced his support for Rep. Jordan, some followed suit. However, it wasn’t enough.
Twenty Republicans voted against Rep. Jordan during the floor vote which was enough to prevent his elevation to Speaker. Those opposing Jordan cast votes for Reps. Steve Scalise, Lee Zeldin (R-NY), Tom Emmer (R-MN), Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Mike Garcia (R-CA), Tom Cole (R-OK), and Thomas Massie (R-KY). Another vote was scheduled for Wednesday. This time, 21 Republicans voted against Rep. Jordan. He now must decide whether he wants to continue his Speaker fight or withdraw his nomination altogether.
Those opposed to Rep. Jordan are turning toward Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry (R-NC). Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) will introduce a measure to give Rep. McHenry the same powers as a permanent Speaker but only for a limited period of time. John Boehner and Newt Gingrich — both former Speakers — have endorsed this idea. Even some House Democrats are on board and their votes will be needed to make this bad idea a reality. They believe that keeping Rep. Jordan out of the Speaker’s chair would be a win for them.
Once a Speaker is elected and the House returns to regular order, they will move forward with legislation in support of Israel. Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced a resolution to stand with Israel (H.Res.771) that has already garnered 424 bipartisan cosponsors.
Noticeably absent from the cosponsor list is Rep. Cori Bush (R-MO) who introduced her own legislation. The Ceasefire Now Resolution (H.Res.786) does not support Israel but instead blames Israelis for defending themselves. It is only supported by twelve of the most progressive Democrats in the House.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK) in the House and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) have introduced legislation (H.R. 5947/S. 3049) to freeze $6 billion in funds to Iran that were released by the Biden administration in September. Sen. Cotton notes that the access to this money “freed up other money for the regime to fund its attacks in Israel.” Sen. Cotton has also called on the Biden administration to deport foreign nationals who express support for the Hamas attacks on Israel. His letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says:
Federal law is clear that any alien who ‘endorses or espouses terrorist activity or persuades others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization’ is inadmissible and must be deported. Swiftly removing and permanently barring from future reentry any foreign student who signed onto or shared approvingly the anti-Semitic letter from the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee on October 7 would be a good place to start.
On Wednesday evening while returning from his visit to Israel, President Biden announced that the United States is providing — apparently without Congressional approval — $100 million in “humanitarian assistance” to the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. While the White House claims that, “the United States provides humanitarian assistance through trusted partners including UN agencies and international NGOs,” it is highly unlikely that this money will not be used to continue the assault on Israel. In addition, at least a dozen Americans are being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas.
The House of Representatives must elect a Speaker as soon as possible. Eagle Forum is urging all Republicans to support Rep. Jim Jordan’s election as Speaker. Without a Speaker in place, Congress can do no legislative work. The time is NOW to elect Jim Jordan as Speaker!
