- Jim Jordan won the GOP speaker nod, but roughly 55 colleagues have said they won't vote for him.
- Some of those hold-outs are defense hawks who may take issue with Jordan's stance on Ukraine.
The war in Israel continues to hang over the leaderless House of Representatives — this time as a blunt instrument for allies of Rep. Jim Jordan, the embattled GOP nominee for speaker.
The Ohio Republican, Judiciary Committee chairman, and acolyte of former President Donald Trump is having trouble winning over scores of his colleagues, with 55 declaring in a closed-door meeting last week that they would vote against him, even on the House floor.
So Jordan and his allies have a new argument: We have to stand with Israel, so set your objections aside and make me speaker now.
A promotion video for Jordan's candidacy posted by two of his allies — Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida — heavily features the Ohio Republican's recent comments on Israel.
—Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) October 15, 2023
And Fox News host Sean Hannity appears to be using Israel as a cudgel as well. An email from a producer posted on X by Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke includes the "war breaking out between Israel and Hamas" as a key reason that GOP holdouts should by "opening The People's House so work can be done."
—Juliegrace Brufke (@juliegraceb) October 15, 2023
Of course, there's an irony to the pitch that Jordan and his allies are making — they didn't seem to worry about the lack of a speaker amid the war in Israel when they were the ones holding out against House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who withdrew his candidacy for speaker on Wednesday less than 36 hours after winning the party's nomination.
There's still a lot of anger among House Republicans about that, and a little-known congressman who barely campaigned for the job won 81 votes against Jordan during a closed-door vote for speaker on Thursday.
Congress is expected to approve some form of aid to Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks, though the White House has yet to make a formal request.
Some of the anti-Jordan holdouts happen to be defense hawks, such as Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
Unlike Jordan, Rogers is a strong supporter of sending aid to Ukraine, and he indicated last week that he may be open to working with Democrats to elect a speaker rather than vote for the Ohio Republican.
But Jordan's argument may be working.
On Monday morning, Rogers announced that he would support Jordan after all.
—Mike Rogers (@RepMikeRogersAL) October 16, 2023