House Freedom Caucus co-founder Jim Jordan confirmed Friday he is considering a run to replace Paul Ryan as House speaker.
“Paul Ryan’s the speaker. There is no speaker’s race. If and when there is, I’m open to running,” Jordan, an Ohio Republican, told the Washington Examiner.
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Friday morning, HFC Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., acknowledged that Jordan is “being encouraged by some of his colleagues” to pursue Ryan’s top position in the House.
But while Jordan has been floated by fellow caucus members as the ideal candidate for the speakership, he does not appear to have a pathway to the votes needed to secure the position. He received one vote for the position in January 2015 and two votes again in January 2017.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana were touted this week as the next in line for the speakership after Ryan announced Wednesday he would not seek another term in November. McCarthy for now appears to be the clear front-runner in the race, as Scalise has said he would not run if McCarthy wants it.
Still, Jordan is among the motivated conservative Republicans who wants to lead the GOP back to the path of fiscal stability. In February, Jordan said Ryan was facing a frustrated conservative base in the House after it passed a government funding agreement that raised budget caps by $300 billion over two years.
He said the funding levels were “not consistent” with GOP principles to cut spending.
“Do I think the speaker has problems? Yes, I do,” Jordan told CNN.
Jordan said Wednesday that it was “too early to talk about” Ryan’s successor, but made it clear he has an interest in reshaping the House GOP.
“What I do know is whoever is in leadership should be focused on one thing: doing what we told the American people we were going to do, let’s be honest. That didn’t happen a few weeks ago when this omnibus spending bill was passed,” he added.
