Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Thursday that it's time for House Republicans to rally around speaker-designee Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and elect him to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was ousted with a historic motion to vacate vote on Oct. 3.
After two floor votes this week, Jordan was unable to gain the 217 votes necessary to win the speaker's gavel. The Republican Conference elected Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chair, the speaker designee after Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., dropped out. A third vote on Jordan is expected at 10 a.m. ET Friday.
"It's been a tough time for the nation, certainly over the last two weeks," Kustoff told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "Kevin McCarthy never should have been ousted. Of course, eight Republicans teamed up with Democrats for that move, and there was really no Plan B for those people who removed Speaker McCarthy.
"Here's the point, though. Jim Jordan is our speaker designee. We all need to come together. We need a speaker of the House ... to your point President [Joe] Biden may send an aid package in the next few days. We cannot vote on a package. We can't vote on a resolution condemning Hamas. We can't vote on any resolution supporting Israel until we have a speaker."
Although it took McCarthy 15 votes to become speaker, Kustoff said he had at least 45 days to gather support following the 2020 election that gave the GOP the House majority. He said Jordan has only had less than a week to gather support. Also, because there are only 221 House Republicans, Jordan can afford to lose only four votes.
"It's unprecedented. We've never had a speaker removed," Kustoff said. "There's no playbook for this, but we need to get behind our speaker designee. We need a speaker chosen. We need to get him on the floor and in the chair.
"The math is the math, right? When you have to get 217 votes with 221 Republicans, it means you can only lose four votes if you're the speaker designee. Jim Jordan is doing what he should be doing, which is meeting with the people who, right now, are either opposed to him or have a problem. Try to move them and then Jordan decides when we come back for a vote."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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