Jim Jordan Vows to Continue Bid for House Speaker Ahead of a Third Vote

TIME

Rep. Jim Jordan made an impassioned push to become House speaker ahead of a Friday vote even as his Republican colleagues were explicitly warning the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no more threats or promises can win over their support.

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00:00 I think the American people are thirsty for change.

00:04 I think they are hungry for leadership.

00:07 And frankly, they know that the White House can't provide it.

00:10 They know the Senate won't lead.

00:12 And they are looking for House Republicans to step up and lead and

00:16 make change on these important issues.

00:18 We got important work to do, important work to do.

00:23 We need to help Israel.

00:23 We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key elements of our

00:28 government are funded and funded in the right way, particularly our military.

00:32 We need to get back to our committee work.

00:34 And frankly, we need to continue the oversight work that I think is so

00:38 darn important.

00:38 In short, we need to get to work for the American people.

00:43 We need to do what we said we were gonna do.

00:45 We need to do what we told them we were gonna do when they elected us and

00:47 put us in office.

00:48 And frankly, we can't do that if the House isn't open.

00:51 And we can't open the House until we get a speaker.

00:58 Americans aren't timid folks, they're people of action.

01:02 And the words in that verse, fight, finish, keep, I think fit the American spirit.

01:06 Americans expect their government to fight for them.

01:11 They expect us to finish our work.

01:13 And they expect us to keep faith with the principles and

01:16 values that made us the greatest nation ever.

01:18 Made us the nation that could go from the Wright brothers to Neil Armstrong.

01:24 That's what we have to keep in mind.

01:26 And that's the kind of attitude I think we gotta have.

01:29 The quickest way to get all this working is to get a speaker elected.

01:33 That's what I hope we can do today.

01:34 I'll take your questions.

01:37 >> Good morning.

01:39 So lay out your path.

01:40 Are you just going to call roll call vote after roll call vote today and

01:44 tomorrow and into the weekend and try to wear your pins down?

01:47 Because it didn't seem like you made any progress yesterday.

01:50 >> Well, you all said that we were gonna lose between the first vote and

01:52 the second vote.

01:53 You all said we were gonna lose 10 to 15 votes.

01:55 We stayed the same.

01:56 We picked up a few.

01:56 We lost a few.

01:57 I think the ones we lost can come back.

01:59 So look, there's been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before.

02:03 We all know that.

02:06 I just know that we need to get a speaker as soon as possible so

02:09 we can get to work for the American people.

02:11 >> [INAUDIBLE]

02:13 >> You're making the case for

02:15 why we need to get the house open so we can evaluate the package.

02:17 We can't do that.

02:18 Can't vote on that.

02:19 Can't pass anything in that until we get the house open.

02:22 So I gotta see the package.

02:24 But we certainly need to help Israel.

02:25 But I gotta see the package.

02:27 But again, we can't do that.

02:28 The house isn't open.

02:29 All the more reason why we need to get the house open as soon as possible.

02:33 I got 200 votes, the speaker designee from my colleagues.

02:37 The sooner we can get this accomplished, the better for

02:40 the American people who expect us to work for them and for our friends and

02:44 allies like the great state of Israel.

02:45 >> In a conversation with members yesterday, were you able to get any of

02:49 the ones who didn't support you previously to pledge to you that they would switch?

02:53 >> We had a good conversation.

02:55 We'll continue to do that.

02:56 But as I point out, the fastest way to get to work for

02:59 the American people is to elect a speaker so the house can be open and

03:03 we can get things done.

03:05 We stand with Israel.

03:06 I've been there five times.

03:07 Amazing, amazing people, amazing country.

03:09 And we should do everything we can to help them.

03:11 The quickest way to do that is to elect a speaker.

03:13 Thank you all very much.

03:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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