U.S. Congressman Daniel Reed Crenshaw (with eye patch), speaking with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue in Houston, TX. July 16, 2020. Photo courtesy of USDA.
Congressman Dan Crenshaw has a message for his fellow Jim Jordan for Speaker supporters, “Chill.” The high-pressure tactics some congressmen are using to persuade moderates are not working, suggests Crenshaw, and in fact, he notes, those tactics will backfire. Politico’s Kelly Garrity reports:
Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) has some advice for Rep. Jim Jordan as he and his allies attempt to pressure his way to the speakership:
Chill.
“That is the dumbest way to support Jordan,” Crenshaw said Sunday during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“I’m supporting Jordan. I’m going to vote for Jordan. As someone who wants Jim Jordan, the dumbest thing you can do is to continue pissing off those people,” Crenshaw told CNN’s Jake Tapper.
The majority of House Republicans backed Jordan, one of the founding members of the House Freedom Caucus, to become speaker during a secret ballot last week, after eight House Republicans voted to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his position earlier this month.
But 55 members of his caucus were opposed to Jordan’s nomination — far more than the handful he can afford to lose if he hopes to win a vote on the House floor. The Ohio Republican told POLITICO on Saturday that he wants to be able to go to the floor on Tuesday, giving him very little time to earn the support of those hesitant to back him.
Lawmakers close to Jordan, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump for the role, have blitzed the airwaves and social media, applying public pressure to the holdouts.
It’s a tactic that isn’t likely to earn them any friends — or crucially, supporters, Crenshaw said.
“When I ask people who are taking that tact, I’m like, did that work on you, when you were one of the 20 against McCarthy, and everybody was bashing you?” Crenshaw said Sunday. “Everybody’s got to grow up, get it together. If there’s differences, let’s sort them out.”
“We need to have cool heads prevail,” he added.
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