Where Minnesota's U.S. House members stand on Jim Jordan's bid for speaker

WASHINGTON - At least three Minnesota Republicans are supporting Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan to become the next House speaker after the unprecedented removal of Kevin McCarthy from the post.

Representatives Brad Finstad and Michelle Fischbach have stated their support for Jordan, a far-right Republican, ahead of a potential vote on the House floor that could happen Tuesday. A source familiar with House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's decision said he also supports Jordan.

Finstad was the first Minnesota Republican to announce his intentions.

"I know Rep. Jordan to be a strong, principled, conservative leader who has a proven record of fighting for the American people, and I am proud to support him for Speaker of the House," Finstad said in a Friday statement. "It is long past time for our Conference to move past our differences as individuals and get back to governing."

A spokesperson for GOP Rep. Pete Stauber did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

All four Minnesota House Democrats are expected to support party leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker. Jeffries won't be able to win the race, but the clear support he has from his own party is a contrast to the infighting dividing Republicans.

"To my GOP colleagues who are actually still interested in governing — Jim Jordan is not your guy and you know it," Democratic Rep, Angie Craig said a news release last week. "Instead of nominating him for Speaker and causing more needless chaos, work with House Democrats to form a unity government that can get bipartisan results for the people we represent. This shouldn't be a hard choice."

A small group of Republicans bucked most members of their party and voted to remove McCarthy from the speaker's office earlier this month. The revolt ousted McCarthy from his leadership post in the narrowly held GOP House given that he won no support from Democrats. All four of Minnesota's congressional Republicans voted to keep McCarthy at that time.

Republicans' path forward since then has been tumultuous.

Jordan wasn't House Republicans' first pick for speaker after McCarthy was removed. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana originally won the GOP's nomination in the aftermath. Emmer, who had vocally defended McCarthy, backed Scalise. Yet Scalise failed to gain enough support from his own party and withdrew his attempt last week. He's sticking around as majority leader however, which blocks Emmer from trying for that promotion.

In a second contest behind closed doors, Republicans picked Jordan on Friday over little-known GOP Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia. The latest Republican nominee faces a steep climb to win on the House floor.

"It's time to unify around this strong, conservative leader and get back to the work of serving the American people and fighting against the far Left agenda," Fischbach posted about Jordan on X, formerly known as Twitter, over the weekend.

Jordan's bid to rise in leadership comes with significant baggage that was highlighted recently by former Rep. Liz Cheney. The Wyoming Republican was ostracized from the GOP for speaking out against Donald Trump and was defeated by a primary challenger last year.

"Jim Jordan was involved in Trump's conspiracy to steal the election and seize power; he urged that Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes," Cheney alleged on social media last week before Jordan became the GOP speaker nominee. "If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They'll lose the House majority and they'll deserve to."

The U.S. House has essentially been frozen since McCarthy was removed on Oct. 3. The deadly attacks by Hamas in Israel have led to even more pressure for the House to get back to work quickly.

"There is growing recognition that the absence of a speaker is greatly consequential, not just as it relates to support for Israel right now, but Ukraine" as well as a November deadline to avert a federal government shutdown, Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips said early last week.

The narrow GOP majority means Jordan will likely have to win the support of nearly every House Republican to become speaker.