While some of Jim Jordan’s allies are vowing to hold out for him on the House floor, the defeated GOP speakership candidate said he’s told them the same thing he’s told Donald Trump — that he is backing Steve Scalise.
Jordan told POLITICO that he’s maintaining a pro-Scalise stance, even as several of his supporters publicly withhold their support from the Louisiana Republican despite his internal victory in House GOP balloting. And the former president who endorsed Jordan’s failed speakership candidacy is getting the same message.
“I’ve told everyone who has talked to me that Steve is the nominee. I’m for him,” Jordan said.
Asked if had conveyed that to Trump to try to secure the former president’s backing for Scalise, Jordan added: “I talk to the president all the time and I told him exactly what I told you.”
Nonetheless, Trump indicated in an interview today that he is concerned about Scalise’s health as the lawmaker undergoes cancer treatment — suggesting that an endorsement may not be forthcoming as the speaker-elect struggles to get the votes he needs from the full House GOP.
Three Republican lawmakers confirmed, speaking candidly on condition of anonymity, that Jordan is indeed telling his supporters that he will back Scalise. However, that’s not necessarily enough to sway those backers — most of them conservatives — to Scalise’s side at the moment.
