BREAKING NEWS: Jim Jordan Calls To Get Elected Speaker, Says Only House Republicans Can Lead Nation

Forbes Breaking News

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) calls for House Republicans to support him for Speaker.

Transcript

00:00 [ Applause ]

00:04 >> Thank you all for coming.

00:05 You know, a few years ago, Polly and I got a call

00:08 from some friends living in the Dayton, Ohio area.

00:12 We live about 40 miles north of there, and they asked

00:14 if we were free to go to dinner with them a few nights later.

00:17 And we said, sure.

00:19 And they said, before we go to dinner,

00:20 we're going to tour the Wright Brothers' homes.

00:23 And we said, great.

00:25 We enjoy history.

00:26 Let's learn about these amazing two Americans.

00:28 And so we go there, and we paid the lady at the door $5

00:34 from the Historical Society.

00:36 And you go on this tour, and you learn all these amazing things

00:38 about the Wright Brothers.

00:40 You learn about the bicycle shop and the other things,

00:42 the gadgets and gizmos they tinkered with and built.

00:45 Fascinating tour.

00:48 Last stop on the tour is Orville Wright's bedroom.

00:53 And they tell you a few more things

00:54 about this particular Wright Brother.

00:56 And then they close the tour out by showing you two pictures.

01:01 First picture they hold up, that very first flight, 1903,

01:06 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in this thing they called a plane.

01:10 And you first thought you'd see that, and you'd go,

01:12 how did that thing get off the ground?

01:15 And the truth is, it barely did.

01:17 It flew like 100 feet, got a few feet off the ground.

01:20 And you're thinking about that, and you sort of remember

01:21 that picture from eighth grade, ninth grade,

01:24 whenever they teach you that in school.

01:25 And I thought, well, that's amazing.

01:28 They put that picture down, and then they hold up a second picture.

01:32 44 years later, 1947, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier

01:38 in a jet, and I was like, wow, that I didn't know.

01:44 That's amazing.

01:46 And 44 years ago, from two guys flying 100 feet

01:48 to another American breaking the sound barrier in a jet.

01:52 And literally, that was the end of the tour.

01:53 They put that picture down, and Polly and I start walking out.

01:57 And as we're walking out that door, it hit me.

02:01 Wait a minute.

02:03 Wait a minute.

02:04 Why did they stop there?

02:06 I represent Wapakoneta, Ohio, Allglase County, Ohio,

02:09 hometown of Neil Armstrong, who 22 years

02:13 after Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier, steps on the moon.

02:17 Stop and think about it.

02:18 In 66 years, one lifetime, we went from two guys flying 100 feet

02:24 to putting a man on the moon.

02:26 It is a great country.

02:28 A great country, the greatest country

02:31 in my judgment made up of great people.

02:33 And right now, those people, I think, are starting to doubt and wonder

02:38 about their government and about where our nation is headed.

02:42 They see an open border.

02:44 They see crime in the streets.

02:45 They know what it costs to put gas in their car.

02:47 They know what it costs to put food on the table.

02:49 They see a war in Israel, our strongest ally Israel,

02:52 and what's happening there, and the help that Israel needs.

02:56 And they see a government that's been weaponized

02:58 against we the people.

03:00 The very government that's supposed to serve us has been turned

03:02 on the taxpayers who pay for it.

03:06 I think the American people are thirsty for change.

03:10 I think they are hungry for leadership.

03:13 And frankly, they know that the White House can't provide it.

03:16 They know the Senate won't lead.

03:19 And they are looking for House Republicans to step up and lead

03:22 and make change on these important issues.

03:25 We got important work to do, important work to do.

03:29 We need to help Israel.

03:31 We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key

03:33 elements of our government are funded and funded

03:35 in the right way, particularly our military.

03:38 We need to get back to our committee work.

03:40 And frankly, we need to continue the oversight work

03:43 that I think is so darn important.

03:46 In short, we need to get to work for the American people.

03:49 We need to do what we said we were going to do.

03:51 We need to do what we told them we were going to do

03:53 when they elected us and put us in office.

03:54 And frankly, we can't do that if the House isn't open.

03:59 And we can't open the House until we get a speaker.

04:04 My favorite scripture verse is 2 Timothy 4.7.

04:08 Paul's the old guy giving advice to the young guy Timothy.

04:11 And he says, "Fight the good fight.

04:13 Finish the course.

04:14 Keep the faith."

04:16 And I tell folks, I love that verse because of the action in it.

04:20 Because of the -- Americans aren't timid folks.

04:23 They are people of action.

04:25 And the words in that verse, "Fight, finish, keep,"

04:28 I think fit the American spirit.

04:31 Americans expect their government to fight for them.

04:34 They expect us to finish our work.

04:37 And they expect us to keep faith with the principles and values

04:40 that made us the greatest nation ever.

04:42 Made us the nation that could go

04:44 from the Wright brothers to Neil Armstrong.

04:48 That's what we have to keep in mind.

04:50 And that's the kind of attitude I think we got to have.

04:52 The quickest way to get all this working is

04:55 to get a speaker elected.

04:57 That's what I hope we can do today.

04:59 I'll take your questions.

05:01 >> Good morning.

05:02 So lay out your path.

05:04 Are you just going to call roll call vote after roll call vote today

05:08 and tomorrow and into the weekend and try to wear your hands down?

05:11 Because it didn't seem like you were getting --

05:13 >> Well, you all said that we were going to lose --

05:15 between the first vote and the second vote,

05:16 you all said we were going to lose 10 to 15 votes.

05:18 We stayed the same.

05:20 We picked up a few.

05:21 We lost a few.

05:22 I think the ones we lost can come back.

05:24 So look, there's been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before.

05:28 We all know that.

05:31 I just know that we need to get a speaker as soon as possible

05:33 so we can get to work for the American people.

05:35 >> Thank you, Congressman.

05:36 So just to be clear, do you plan to dry this out this weekend

05:40 if you don't get the votes today?

05:41 And then secondly, President Biden, as we heard last night,

05:44 is sending a $100 billion foreign aid package here to Congress.

05:50 Is that something that you --

05:51 >> You're making the case for why we need to get the house open

05:54 so we can evaluate the package.

05:55 We can't do that.

05:57 Can't vote on that.

05:58 Can't pass anything in that until we get the house open.

06:00 So I got to see the package.

06:02 But we certainly need to help Israel.

06:03 But I got to see the package.

06:05 But again, we can't do that.

06:06 The house isn't open.

06:08 So I think that's the reason why we need

06:10 to get the house open as soon as possible.

06:12 >> Mr. Jordan, Mr. Jordan, what do you say to the people of Israel,

06:15 Prime Minister Netanyahu, that you're not able to provide aid

06:19 to Israel because the house is so locked up?

06:22 >> Again, I think you're making my case.

06:24 I got 200 votes, the speaker-designee from my colleagues.

06:28 The sooner we can get this accomplished,

06:30 the better for the American people who expect us to work for them

06:34 and for our friends and allies like the great state of Israel.

06:36 >> In your conversation with members yesterday,

06:38 were you able to get any of the ones who didn't support you previously

06:41 to pledge to you that they would switch to votes for you?

06:43 >> We had a good conversation.

06:45 We'll continue to do that.

06:46 But as I point out, the fastest way to get to work

06:49 for the American people is to elect a speaker.

06:52 So the house can be open, and we can get things done.

06:54 I'll take a couple more, a couple more.

06:57 [ Inaudible ]

07:15 Just that.

07:16 [ Inaudible ]

07:22 I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election.

07:24 I've been clear about that.

07:25 My intention in forwarding the email was an argument made

07:28 by former Inspector General for Donald Rumsfeld, accomplished lawyer

07:32 who laid out an argument from the Federalist Papers.

07:34 I forwarded it on to them.

07:35 That was all it was.

07:37 [ Inaudible ]

07:46 Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House

07:48 of Representatives as soon as possible

07:50 so we can help the American people.

07:51 Last one.

07:53 [ Inaudible ]

07:56 We stand with --

07:57 [ Inaudible ]

07:59 We stand with Israel.

08:00 I've been there five times.

08:02 Amazing, amazing people, amazing country.

08:04 And we should do everything we can to help them.

08:05 The quickest way to do that is to elect a speaker.

08:07 Thank you all very much.

08:09 [ Inaudible ]

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