Meuser backs Jordan for House speaker, Cartwright seeks consensus builder

Oct. 10—U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser plans to back Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker when House Republicans meet Wednesday morning.

Meuser, R-9, Jackson Twp., said he would have no problem if House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wins the speaker post, but prefers Jordan.

It was unclear Tuesday night if either had enough votes to win after the two leading contenders to replace Kevin McCarthy addressed colleagues at a candidate forum. McCarthy was removed as speaker last week after a conservative contingent in the House forced a vote.

Meuser, who voted to keep McCarthy in the top job, noted Scalise was already the leader under McCarthy and the House voted for change.

"I'm more leaning for Jordan to be speaker and Scalise to be majority leader," Meuser said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I think we need them both in leadership, because together they can unite not just our party, but our policy direction. ... We can't, in my view, just have the same leadership. I think the people are demanding ... somebody like Jim Jordan, who is very decisive."

Jordan, who represents Ohio's 4th Congressional District, co-founded and chaired the House Freedom Caucus, a band of activist conservative congressmen, in January 2015. Jordan chairs the House Judiciary Committee, one of the panels investigating President Joe Biden and his family's financial connections.

As speaker, Jordan would have to negotiate legislation directly with the Biden administration.

"That's a good point," Meuser said. "I mean, look, it's not just him doing these investigations. The American people are demanding it. Perhaps it'll be a very good thing for Biden, if he gets cleared of these potential scandals or we're going to find out that he was involved. So these are things that just need to take place, but we need to be able to engage in the interests of the right policy as well."

Meuser pointed out that Scalise favors the investigations as much as Jordan.

Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-8, Moosic, said he favors finding a speaker who can build consensus. He pointed to former House Speaker John Boehner, who resigned in October 2015 amid dissent from conservatives like Jordan.

"He was pretty good at that (consensus)," Cartwright said. "What I want to see is the speaker reaching toward the center for votes instead of to the right-wing extremists."

He doesn't see Jordan as a consensus builder.

"Boehner called him a legislative terrorist," Cartwright said.

He's unsure Scalise could build consensus either, though he has gotten to know Scalise a bit because both are friends with Pittston Mayor Michael Lombardo. Scalise and Lombardo have known each other since childhood.

When Scalise was shot in June 2017 during the annual congressional baseball game practice, many House Democrats "expressed support and sympathy for him," Cartwright said.

"It's hard for me to believe he doesn't have a better relationship with the Democrats than Jim Jordan," he said.

Barring the emergence of a Republican consensus builder, he will continue backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, for speaker.

Cartwright said he expects neither Scalise nor Jordan will have the votes to settle the matter Wednesday, which could mean an indefinite stalemate that blocks House legislation from moving forward.

The Republican candidates for speaker need 217 votes to overcome opposition from Democrats. A vote could come as soon as Wednesday, after Republicans meet behind closed doors, the Associated Press reported.

Several lawmakers, including Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, who engineered McCarthy's ouster said they would be willing to support either Scalise or Jordan, according to the AP.

"I think it's a competitive race for speaker because we've got two greats," Rep. Andy Barr, R-Kentucky, said.

Contact the writer: bkrawczeniuk@scrantontimes.com; 570-348-9147; @BorysBlogTT on Twitter.