Meuser may seek House speaker job

Oct. 19—If the stalemate over a new U.S. House speaker continues, a local congressman may go for the job.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-9, Jackson Twp., said he continues to support Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, or "a strong alternative" who can achieve 217 votes, the number necessary for election. Jordan told Republicans on Thursday he would pause his bid for speaker and support Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., as temporary speaker. But that plan fell through when Jordan's hard-right allies refused to allow a temporary speaker to gain more power.

In a text to a Times-Tribune reporter Thursday, Meuser said he would likely seek the speaker's job if Republicans were to follow through and choose McHenry to lead the House for a set time period or until another speaker is elected.

In a vote on Tuesday, 20 Republican House members opposed Jordan. On Wednesday, 22 opposed him. Jordan declined Thursday to try a third time and proposed appointing McHenry temporarily, before changing his mind. "I'm still running for speaker and I plan to go to the floor and get the votes and win this race," Jordan said.

Meuser, 59, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, first hinted at seeking the job in an interview with National Review Online on Tuesday after the first vote on Jordan.

"Are you kidding? If we go back to it, I'm considering it because I'm not gonna let this kindergarten continue. I'll do it," Meuser told the publication.

Meuser, state secretary of revenue under Gov. Tom Corbett, won his first term in Congress in 2018 by easily defeating Dennis Wolff, a Columbia County dairy farmer and state agriculture secretary under Gov. Ed Rendell. He easily won reelection in 2020 and again in 2022 after redistricting.

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