Rep. Andy Biggs said he doesn’t support the idea of empowering interim Speaker Patrick McHenry while Rep. Matt Rosendale said it would be “a dangerous consolidation of power.” Asked how long Jordan should stay in the race, Rosendale said “until he is elected speaker.”
Rep. Tim Burchett also wants to see Jordan stick it out and doesn’t want to empower McHenry because it will take the “urgency” away from electing a permanent speaker.
But another Jordan backer, Rep. Nicole Maliotakis, was less committal. She said she would vote for him on the second ballot but if he doesn’t show progress then it’s time to go back to the “drawing board.”
She also said empowering McHenry should be a “last resort” but was open to the idea, although she said her preference is a permanent speaker.