Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) criticized his Republican colleagues who have launched a public campaign to pressure holdouts to support Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for speaker.
Jordan was elected as the Republican nominee for House Speaker last week, but he does not have the 217 votes needed to secure the gavel on the House floor. Nearly five dozen House Republicans oppose his speakership bid.
To sway the anti-Jordan lawmakers, his allies plan to apply serious pressure this weekend by riling up the MAGA base. Politico reported that they’re hoping Jordan’s critics will cave under pressure from grassroots activists, conservative talk-show hosts, and fellow GOP lawmakers.
Crenshaw, who supports Jordan for House speaker, called this move a dumb idea.
“So what I would really recommend to Jordan’s allies too, is a lot of them have mounted this high pressure campaign. They’re going to whip up Twitter against the people who are against Jordan,” Crenshaw said on CNN’s “State of the Union. “That is the dumbest way to support Jordan and I’m supporting Jordan. I’m going to vote for Jordan. And as somebody who wants Jim Jordan, the dumbest thing you can do is to continue pissing off those people and entrench them.”
The House has been at a standstill while Republicans struggle to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) since Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led a successful effort to remove him as speaker nearly two weeks ago.
