Republicans who ousted McCarthy say they’d accept punishment if Jordan holdouts flip

Seven of the eight Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sent a letter to their party vowing to “accept censure, suspension, or removal” from the GOP conference if the GOP holdouts who refused to back Speaker Designate Jim Jordan (R-OH) vote for his nomination on the floor.

The lawmakers maintained they do not regret their decision to remove McCarthy from the top House leadership position but acknowledged that “some in the Conference wish to punish us,” the letter states. The offer came after Jordan lost his third round of speaker votes on Friday but before the conference voted to abandon him as the speaker-designee after 25 Republicans voted against his nomination despite efforts from the Ohio Republican to flip their votes in his favor.

SPEAKER VOTE: THE 25 REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED NOT TO ELECT JORDAN ON HIS THIRD BALLOT

“If the holdouts who refuse to vote for Speaker-Designate Jordan would be willing to ‘vote with the team’ and elect him the 56th House Speaker, we are prepared to accept censure, suspension, or removal from the Conference to accomplish this objective,” the letter states. “We remain proud members of the Republican Party, as nominated by our respective districts.”

The letter is signed by Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Eli Crane (R-AZ), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Bob Good (R-VA), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Matt Rosendale (R-MT).

An initial draft of the letter included Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO). Notably, he has opposed Jordan’s speakership and voted against him on the floor. Buck denied involvement with the letter and was subsequently removed as a signatory.

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The letter comes as several Republican lawmakers have publicly criticized their colleagues for voting with Democrats to oust their GOP leader, blaming the so-called “crazy eight” for throwing the House into chaos.

“Remember, it was the crazy eight led by Matt Gaetz and every single Democrat that put us into this situation,” McCarthy said on Thursday.