House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican who had threatened to cut a deal with Democrats to elect a speaker, announced Monday he’ll instead back the lead GOP contender, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Mr. Rogers, of Alabama, had been opposed to Mr. Jordan but posted on social media Monday that after two “cordial, thoughtful and productive conversations” with Mr. Jordan over the weekend, he changed his mind.
The switch also follows considerable backlash aimed at Mr. Rogers over his public threat to work with Democrats to end the GOP’s two-week struggle to elect a speaker.
Such a move would have required unprecedented power-sharing concessions and essentially ended the Republican control of the House floor.
Mr. Rogers is among lawmakers who want Mr. Jordan to commit to additional federal funding for Ukraine and other defense spending priorities outlined in the National Defense Authorization Act. Mr. Jordan has not publicly promised to support more Ukraine funding, reflecting the sharp division within the GOP on the issue.
“We agreed on the need for Congress to pass a strong NDAA, appropriations to fund our government’s vital functions and other important legislation like the Farm Bill,” Mr. Rogers said, characterizing his talks with Mr. Jordan. “As a result, I have decided to support Jim Jordan for speaker of the House on the floor.”
In a subsequent post, Mr. Rogers responded to the criticism of his threat to work with Democrats, describing himself as “a team player” who has “supported what the majority of the Republican conference agrees to.”
“Together, our Republican majority will be stronger to fight Joe Biden’s reckless agenda for America,” he wrote on X.
Mr. Jordan, 59, and GOP allies have been adding to his support for speaker since Friday, when he was nominated for the position after Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana dropped out.
A House floor vote is slated for Tuesday.
Democrats plan to vote for their minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, which means Mr. Jordan can afford to lose only a handful of Republican votes if he is to win the gavel.
Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, told The Washington Times that Mr. Jordan gained the support of 30 to 50 Republican lawmakers over the weekend, adding to the 152 votes cast for him by GOP lawmakers in a secret ballot Friday.
Republican lawmakers nominated Mr. Jordan after Mr. Scalise couldn’t get enough support for the speakership.
The House has been without a speaker since Oct. 3, when eight hardline conservatives voted with all Democrats to remove Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California.
The House cannot legislate without an elected speaker.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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