Gaetz presses Jordan to go after Speaker job

WASHINGTON (The Hill) – Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) over the weekend said that his Christmas wish is for his Republican colleague, Jim Jordan (Ohio), to run to be the next Speaker of the House. Jordan, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee when the GOP assumes the majority next month, has not announced plans to run for the leadership post.

"All I want for Christmas is @Jim_Jordan to realize he should be Speaker of the House!" Gaetz wrote in a Saturday tweet.

Gaetz, who has repeatedly spoken out against House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) taking up the Speaker's gavel, followed up that tweet with another on Sunday asking his followers to encourage Jordan to run for the top House spot. The Florida lawmaker has previously supported Jordan for the post, telling Fox News in August that Jordan was the "hardest-working" and the "most talented member" in his more conservative base.

Ohio Republican Jordan endorsed McCarthy for House Speaker and expressed concerns this month that Republicans conspiring against the minority leader could work with Democrats to elect a different leader. McCarthy won a Republican Conference vote last month, but must secure the position on the floor when the next Congress forms in January.

The GOP leader faces a challenge from far-right lawmaker Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who previously failed to beat McCarthy in the conference vote. Some far-right Republicans, including members of the House Freedom Caucus, are pushing for more conservative leadership in the House following the GOP's underperformance in the midterm elections.

Biggs and Gaetz join three other Republicans—Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), and Bob Good (Va.)—in publicly expressing strong opposition to McCarthy as the next Speaker. Other Republicans, including Scott Perry (Pa.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.), have said they will not support McCarthy as Speaker unless there is a mechanism to easily remove him from the top post.