Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, denounced the multiple threats aimed at his Republican counterparts who have voted against him for speaker this week, saying he condemns "all threats against our colleagues" and telling whoever's behind it to "stop."
No fewer than four Republican holdouts have reported threatening text messages, phone calls and, in one case, "credible death threats."
While a handful of Republicans pin the blame squarely on Jordan's team for using aggressive tactics to win over the defectors ahead of a third vote Thursday, Jordan tried — several times — Wednesday night to douse the hardball means.
"No American should accost another for their beliefs," Jordan posted to X. "We condemn all threats against our colleagues and it is imperative that we come together. Stop. It's abhorrent."
Jordan spokesman Russell Dye also condemned the threats.
"This is abhorrent and has no place in civil discourse. No one should receive threats and it needs to stop. We have condemned these actions repeatedly. It is important that Republicans stop attacking each other and come together."
Jordan told CNN on Wednesday night that the threats are "just wrong."
Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan in the first floor vote Tuesday and then 22 cast votes against him in Wednesday's second vote. Some of those reported backlash that crossed the line.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said she received "credible death threats" after voting for Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, in the second vote. Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan in the first round.
The wife of Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., received threatening text messages trying to strong-arm her into convincing her husband to back Jordan.
"Why is your husband causing chaos by not supporting Jim Jordan?" read one of the texts from Tuesday after the first floor vote. "Your husband will not hold any political office ever again."
"Jim's been nice, one-on-one, but his broader team has been playing hardball," Bacon told Politico.
Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., said staffers in his office have been "cussed out" in phone calls. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., confronted Jordan personally about robocalls to Gimenez's South Florida district over his nay vote.
"Robocalls — they're not free. So somebody is actually funding this. And then he told me that he wasn't behind it, and he's asked people to stop. But if you've asked people to stop it, why aren't they listening to you?" Gimenez told reporters.
Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., also reported his office getting inundated with calls from Jordan supporters.
"I think he's absolutely responsible for it," Rutherford said about Jordan.
All of which seems to be spelling doom for Jordan heading into a third vote, scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
"Jordan is headed for defeat. He'll fight to death, likely, and we won't let off," Bacon told NBC News. "Their tactics angered us. They're harassing our spouses, even. Jordan hit a brick wall."
Said Womack: "They didn't read the room very well, and they don't know these members very well."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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