House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has condemned the threats toward House Republicans who voted against him for Speaker, calling them “just wrong.”
“It should never happen,” Jordan told CNN as he left his office Wednesday.
“It’s just wrong, and we don’t want it to happen to anyone. Any American, anybody, any member of Congress. It’s just wrong,” he said.
The Ohio Republican reiterated the similar message later Wednesday in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“No American should accost another for their beliefs,” he wrote in the post. “We condemn all threats against our colleagues and it is imperative that we come together.”
“Stop. It’s abhorrent,” the lawmaker added.
His condemnation comes after a second vote to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) failed — leaving Jordan even further from securing the gavel than the first ballot.
Opponents to his Speakership bid have reported receiving a barrage of angry texts and calls threatening them and their families unless they flip their vote.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) said Wednesday that she received “credible death threats” after she voted against Jordan.
She was one of four Republicans who withdrew support after voting for Jordan on the first ballot. Two others, who originally had not supported him, flipped their votes on the second ballot.
“One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully,” Miller-Meeks said in a statement. “I did not stand for bullies before I voted for Chairwoman Granger and when I voted for Speaker designee Jordan, and I will not bend to bullies now.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who voted against Jordan both times, said in an interview on CNN that his wife had been getting threats via text message and angry phone calls.
Screenshots of the reported text messages to Bacon’s wife read, “Why is your husband causing chaos by not supporting Jim Jordan? I thought he was a team player” and “Your husband will not hold any political office ever again. What a disappointment and failure he is.”
“If they think a pressure campaign or bullying campaign is going to work for me, it’s not,” Bacon said in the interview.
The House has been without a Speaker for more than two weeks, after eight Republicans joined all present Democrats in an historic vote to oust former McCarthy from the post.
Since then, House Republicans have struggled to find a candidate that could garner a majority of support.
A third vote is expected as early as Thursday afternoon.