Jim Jordan’s momentum stalled after closed-door GOP meeting a day before floor vote

House Republicans plan to go to the floor Tuesday to vote for a speaker, but after a closed-door conference meeting ended Monday night, it became evident that Speaker Designate Jim Jordan (R-OH) still doesn’t have the votes necessary to become speaker.

After an intensive pressure campaign and whip operation by Jordan and his allies, the Ohio Republican was able to whittle down his opposition on Monday to a more manageable number than where he stood on Friday when 55 Republicans vowed to vote against him.

PATRICK MCHENRY SHOULD ‘ALREADY’ HAVE THE AUTHORING TO GOVERN HOUSE: MCCARTHY

“We need to get a speaker tomorrow. The American people deserve to have their Congress, their House of Representatives, working,” Jordan told reporters on Monday following a closed-door meeting. “I felt good walking into the conference. I feel even better now.”

But while Jordan said he felt better, one GOP member who supports Jordan said his momentum “paused” a little Monday night. After the conference meeting, Jordan’s holdouts became more known and vocal in their opposition.

Coming out of the closed-door meeting, at least six Republicans said they were still planning not to support Jordan on the floor.

Those included Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN).

Rep. Marinette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said she was undecided on how she was going to vote on Tuesday.

Much of this anger centers on how Jordan’s allies tanked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-LA) chance at being speaker after he was nominated and elected in conference to be their nominee.

“We had an election last week, the first election we had, Steve Scalise was our speaker designate,” Kelly said. “I just don’t understand, if it doesn’t go your way on the first vote, how these people could go into that conference and talk about what a great team they have when they turn their back on the exact rules that we have. That doesn’t make sense.”

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Some members said they feel that electing Jordan as speaker would be “rewarding bad behavior” of those who not only tanked Scalise’s speakership but also ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

“We need a speaker,” Bacon said. “We got a world on fire. But I didn’t put us there. A small group that took out Kevin and then blocked Steve has put us in this spot. So, my main concern is, as an American, we believe in the rule of law. And we had a small group of folks who broke our rules and got rid of Kevin, and then a small group broke our rules and blocked Steve. Now, they want us to follow the rules and support Jim, and I don’t like that. I don’t play a game where the other guy can break the rules and win.”

One member who has not yet made his position known but is leaning toward being against Jordan is Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR), a veteran appropriator and a House cardinal.

Like many of the other holdouts, Womack is upset with how the process has played out and with how Jordan’s allies, and Jordan himself, didn’t rally to support Scalise after he was rightfully elected in conference.

Womack said he told Jordan where he stands but would not reveal his exact position publicly. When asked if he planned on voting for Jordan, Womack gave a look of disdain and said he would make it known publicly when he votes on the floor.

“What happened was an unconscionable action by the GOP that did not provide the opportunity for our No. 2, Steve Scalise, to benefit from what the person he defeated is benefiting from right now,” Womack said.

The pressure campaign by Jordan and his allies to flip votes worked on some of the holdouts, such as House Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), who on Friday said he would never support Jordan to be speaker.

“There are still some hard feelings out there in the conference,” Womack said. “And just because some people are coming aboard the Jordan movement, people shouldn’t be too quick to read that they are just kind of all in for Jordan. I mean, there are some, but a lot of these folks, a lot of that 55, they just don’t like the pressure cooker.”

The vote is scheduled for noon Tuesday, and Jordan has said he will have a vote whether or not he has the 217 votes needed to become speaker.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

But it is clear as of now that he doesn’t have the support of 217 members. The pressure campaign hasn’t gotten to everybody, and for some, pressure is not the way to win their vote.

“I will tell you that if folks think that they can pressure me, that’s where they lose,” Diaz-Balart said.