Lawmakers Decry Death Threats After Voting Against Jim Jordan for Speaker

House Republican lawmakers said they received credible death threats after voting against Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) bid for Speaker of the House.

Twenty-two House Republicans on Wednesday declined to vote to make Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, the next Speaker of the House.

After the vote, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), who was one of the 22 House Republicans to vote against Jordan, said she received death threats. She explained in a written statement on Wednesday:

Today, it became abundantly clear early in the roll call vote, that Jim Jordan still did not have the votes necessary to become Speaker. Given the concerns I had before any vote and the ability of the speaker designee to unify the conference, I voted in support of Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Kay Granger to serve as Speaker of the House. I voted for Chairwoman Granger because she has demonstrated great leadership this year by bringing forth, and passing, fiscally responsible, single-subject appropriations bills and is a staunch conservative.

However, since my vote in support of Chairwoman Granger, I have received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls. The proper authorities have been notified and my office is cooperating fully.

One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully.

Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-GA), another of the 22 House Republicans who voted against Jordan, said he also received death threats. Ferguson said in a written statement obtained by Breitbart News:

As the Republican Conference designee, I supported Congressman Jordan on the first ballot. Following the first vote, I had genuine concerns about the threatening tactics and pressure campaigns Jordan and his allies were using to leverage members for their votes.

I discussed this directly with Jim, and planned to support him on the second ballot. When the pressure campaigns and attacks on fellow members ramped up, it became clear to me that the House Republican Conference does not need a bully as the Speaker.

I cast my vote for Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a principled conservative and unifying leader.

Shortly after casting that vote, my family and I started receiving death-threats. That is simply unacceptable, unforgivable, and will never be tolerated.

Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.