Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is criticizing Rep. Jim Jordan and the Republican lawmakers who are voting for him for House speaker, saying “the public has to understand what is at stake.”
“Mr. Jordan and his friends do a real disservice to their members on the Republican side to call upon them once, maybe more, we’ll see [Wednesday], to vote for such a person for speaker,” Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, said on MSNBC Tuesday. “They’re going to have to answer to their conscience, to their children, to their own legacy for doing something so disreputable.”
Mr. Jordan, Ohio Republican, did not have enough votes to grab the speakership on Tuesday after 17 Republicans voted with House Democrats for other candidates. Republicans only hold a slim majority in the House, so Mr. Jordan can only lose four GOP votes. This is the third week that the House has no speaker, after Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a revolt by hard-line conservatives.
Mrs. Pelosi said that for some Republicans, this process “has to be very painful for them,” while others “are right in there with” Mr. Jordan.
The former speaker contrasted the Republican conference with the Democratic conference, saying Democrats united “proudly” to vote for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat.
Her main objection to Mr. Jordan is his refusal to accept that President Biden won the 2020 election against former President Donald Trump. She also said Mr. Jordan has not passed any legislation, with his only interest being to “criminalize a woman’s right to choose with no exceptions.”
“You see these people voting for him when he voted against disaster assistance when fires came to their area, when storms and hurricanes and just, well, that’s why you see some people voting against him from New York, but there are many others voting against the interest of their constituents because you know why?” Mrs. Pelosi asked. “The instigator of the insurrection, Donald Trump, has asked them to.”
The House is expected to vote again Wednesday for a new speaker.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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