Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is throwing a wrench into House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA.) attempts to secure the Speakership, publicly throwing his support behind Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
On Christmas eve, Gaetz tweeted all he wanted for the Holiday was for Jim Jordan to “realize he should be Speaker of the House.”
The Florida Republican continued his efforts on Christmas day, tweeting to his followers to encourage Jordan to run for the Speakership.
In August, Gaetz relayed his support for Jordan on Fox News, asserting that the Ohio Republican is the “hardest working” and “most talented member” of the Republican caucus.
However, Gaetz’s prodding may be in vain, as Jordan, who will lead the House Judiciary Committee when the GOP assumes the majority on January 3, endorsed McCarthy for the role of Speaker.
Furthermore, Jordan cautioned that Republicans attempting to thwart McCarthy’s efforts to be elected Speaker could work with Democrats to elect another leader.
McCarthy already secured the GOP’s official backing last month when he beat Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Az.) in a House Republican Conference vote.
However, McCarthy will have to win 218 votes on the House floor to secure the role of Speaker.
This could prove challenging given the GOP only has a four-seat majority and right-winger Biggs plans to challenge McCarthy for the role of Speaker on the House floor.
Besides Biggs and Gaetz, other Republicans — including Reps. Bob Good (VA.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), and Matt Rosendale (Mont.) — have expressed strong opposition to McCarthy’s bid for Speaker.
With such a close margin to the majority, losing these five votes could cost McCarthy the Speakership.
