Pence to House GOP: ‘Decide what team you want to be on’

Former Vice President Mike Pence called on House Republicans on Friday to “decide what team you want to be on” amid infighting that has left the House without a Speaker for more than two weeks.

“Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined eight Republicans partnering with every Democrat in Congress to throw out a Republican Speaker of the House. All roads lead back to the eight members of what I call the chaos caucus who set all this into motion,” Pence told Steve Scully on SiriusXM in an interview first shared with The Hill.

Pence, who is running for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, had expressed frustration with the ouster of Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as Speaker, an effort led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and ultimately backed by seven other GOP members.

House Republicans have been unable to unify behind a single candidate in the time since McCarthy was removed, with Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) coming up short so far.

“With everything that’s happening in the world … the American people are looking to Republicans in the Congress to stop fighting with each other and start fighting for them,” Pence said. “And my message to each and every one of them is today decide what team you want to be on. Let’s elect a Speaker, and let’s get back to work.”

Pence, a former member of House Republican leadership, said either Scalise or Jordan would make for an “outstanding Speaker.”

Jordan, the current Speaker nominee, is preparing to hold a third vote for the Speakership on Friday.

Jordan lost 20 and 22 Republican votes on the first two ballots, respectively. With the GOP’s narrow majority, Jordan can only afford to lose a handful of votes.

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