Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan after Jordan lost the first round of votes for the speakership, saying Jordan “has just as many votes as I had on the first round.”
“The difference here is we have rules and we can sit down and talk to the other members and be able to move forward,” he said, brushing away claims by Jordan allies that he was in striking distance when 20 Republicans voted against him. “What I saw was the exact same vote I got when I ran and I became speaker.”
McCarthy said that unlike in January, the chamber can pause to allow discussions to happen between members.
“Now we have rules. We don’t have to be stuck on the floor,” he said, and blamed “every single Democrat” who he said “voted to stop one branch of government.”
“We’ll go sit down, we’ll talk to those who have a difference of opinion and come back,” he said.
