Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) calls for House Republicans to support him for Speaker.
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00:00 [ Applause ]
00:04 >> Thank you all for coming.
00:05 You know, a few years ago, Polly and I got a call
00:08 from some friends living in the Dayton, Ohio area.
00:12 We live about 40 miles north of there, and they asked
00:14 if we were free to go to dinner with them a few nights later.
00:17 And we said, sure.
00:19 And they said, before we go to dinner,
00:20 we're going to tour the Wright Brothers' homes.
00:23 And we said, great.
00:25 We enjoy history.
00:26 Let's learn about these amazing two Americans.
00:28 And so we go there, and we paid the lady at the door $5
00:34 from the Historical Society.
00:36 And you go on this tour, and you learn all these amazing things
00:38 about the Wright Brothers.
00:40 You learn about the bicycle shop and the other things,
00:42 the gadgets and gizmos they tinkered with and built.
00:45 Fascinating tour.
00:48 Last stop on the tour is Orville Wright's bedroom.
00:53 And they tell you a few more things
00:54 about this particular Wright Brother.
00:56 And then they close the tour out by showing you two pictures.
01:01 First picture they hold up, that very first flight, 1903,
01:06 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in this thing they called a plane.
01:10 And you first thought you'd see that, and you'd go,
01:12 how did that thing get off the ground?
01:15 And the truth is, it barely did.
01:17 It flew like 100 feet, got a few feet off the ground.
01:20 And you're thinking about that, and you sort of remember
01:21 that picture from eighth grade, ninth grade,
01:24 whenever they teach you that in school.
01:25 And I thought, well, that's amazing.
01:28 They put that picture down, and then they hold up a second picture.
01:32 44 years later, 1947, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier
01:38 in a jet, and I was like, wow, that I didn't know.
01:44 That's amazing.
01:46 And 44 years ago, from two guys flying 100 feet
01:48 to another American breaking the sound barrier in a jet.
01:52 And literally, that was the end of the tour.
01:53 They put that picture down, and Polly and I start walking out.
01:57 And as we're walking out that door, it hit me.
02:01 Wait a minute.
02:03 Wait a minute.
02:04 Why did they stop there?
02:06 I represent Wapakoneta, Ohio, Allglase County, Ohio,
02:09 hometown of Neil Armstrong, who 22 years
02:13 after Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier, steps on the moon.
02:17 Stop and think about it.
02:18 In 66 years, one lifetime, we went from two guys flying 100 feet
02:24 to putting a man on the moon.
02:26 It is a great country.
02:28 A great country, the greatest country
02:31 in my judgment made up of great people.
02:33 And right now, those people, I think, are starting to doubt and wonder
02:38 about their government and about where our nation is headed.
02:42 They see an open border.
02:44 They see crime in the streets.
02:45 They know what it costs to put gas in their car.
02:47 They know what it costs to put food on the table.
02:49 They see a war in Israel, our strongest ally Israel,
02:52 and what's happening there, and the help that Israel needs.
02:56 And they see a government that's been weaponized
02:58 against we the people.
03:00 The very government that's supposed to serve us has been turned
03:02 on the taxpayers who pay for it.
03:06 I think the American people are thirsty for change.
03:10 I think they are hungry for leadership.
03:13 And frankly, they know that the White House can't provide it.
03:16 They know the Senate won't lead.
03:19 And they are looking for House Republicans to step up and lead
03:22 and make change on these important issues.
03:25 We got important work to do, important work to do.
03:29 We need to help Israel.
03:31 We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key
03:33 elements of our government are funded and funded
03:35 in the right way, particularly our military.
03:38 We need to get back to our committee work.
03:40 And frankly, we need to continue the oversight work
03:43 that I think is so darn important.
03:46 In short, we need to get to work for the American people.
03:49 We need to do what we said we were going to do.
03:51 We need to do what we told them we were going to do
03:53 when they elected us and put us in office.
03:54 And frankly, we can't do that if the House isn't open.
03:59 And we can't open the House until we get a speaker.
04:04 My favorite scripture verse is 2 Timothy 4.7.
04:08 Paul's the old guy giving advice to the young guy Timothy.
04:11 And he says, "Fight the good fight.
04:13 Finish the course.
04:14 Keep the faith."
04:16 And I tell folks, I love that verse because of the action in it.
04:20 Because of the -- Americans aren't timid folks.
04:23 They are people of action.
04:25 And the words in that verse, "Fight, finish, keep,"
04:28 I think fit the American spirit.
04:31 Americans expect their government to fight for them.
04:34 They expect us to finish our work.
04:37 And they expect us to keep faith with the principles and values
04:40 that made us the greatest nation ever.
04:42 Made us the nation that could go
04:44 from the Wright brothers to Neil Armstrong.
04:48 That's what we have to keep in mind.
04:50 And that's the kind of attitude I think we got to have.
04:52 The quickest way to get all this working is
04:55 to get a speaker elected.
04:57 That's what I hope we can do today.
04:59 I'll take your questions.
05:01 >> Good morning.
05:02 So lay out your path.
05:04 Are you just going to call roll call vote after roll call vote today
05:08 and tomorrow and into the weekend and try to wear your hands down?
05:11 Because it didn't seem like you were getting --
05:13 >> Well, you all said that we were going to lose --
05:15 between the first vote and the second vote,
05:16 you all said we were going to lose 10 to 15 votes.
05:18 We stayed the same.
05:20 We picked up a few.
05:21 We lost a few.
05:22 I think the ones we lost can come back.
05:24 So look, there's been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before.
05:28 We all know that.
05:31 I just know that we need to get a speaker as soon as possible
05:33 so we can get to work for the American people.
05:35 >> Thank you, Congressman.
05:36 So just to be clear, do you plan to dry this out this weekend
05:40 if you don't get the votes today?
05:41 And then secondly, President Biden, as we heard last night,
05:44 is sending a $100 billion foreign aid package here to Congress.
05:50 Is that something that you --
05:51 >> You're making the case for why we need to get the house open
05:54 so we can evaluate the package.
05:55 We can't do that.
05:57 Can't vote on that.
05:58 Can't pass anything in that until we get the house open.
06:00 So I got to see the package.
06:02 But we certainly need to help Israel.
06:03 But I got to see the package.
06:05 But again, we can't do that.
06:06 The house isn't open.
06:08 So I think that's the reason why we need
06:10 to get the house open as soon as possible.
06:12 >> Mr. Jordan, Mr. Jordan, what do you say to the people of Israel,
06:15 Prime Minister Netanyahu, that you're not able to provide aid
06:19 to Israel because the house is so locked up?
06:22 >> Again, I think you're making my case.
06:24 I got 200 votes, the speaker-designee from my colleagues.
06:28 The sooner we can get this accomplished,
06:30 the better for the American people who expect us to work for them
06:34 and for our friends and allies like the great state of Israel.
06:36 >> In your conversation with members yesterday,
06:38 were you able to get any of the ones who didn't support you previously
06:41 to pledge to you that they would switch to votes for you?
06:43 >> We had a good conversation.
06:45 We'll continue to do that.
06:46 But as I point out, the fastest way to get to work
06:49 for the American people is to elect a speaker.
06:52 So the house can be open, and we can get things done.
06:54 I'll take a couple more, a couple more.
06:57 [ Inaudible ]
07:15 Just that.
07:16 [ Inaudible ]
07:22 I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election.
07:24 I've been clear about that.
07:25 My intention in forwarding the email was an argument made
07:28 by former Inspector General for Donald Rumsfeld, accomplished lawyer
07:32 who laid out an argument from the Federalist Papers.
07:34 I forwarded it on to them.
07:35 That was all it was.
07:37 [ Inaudible ]
07:46 Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House
07:48 of Representatives as soon as possible
07:50 so we can help the American people.
07:51 Last one.
07:53 [ Inaudible ]
07:56 We stand with --
07:57 [ Inaudible ]
07:59 We stand with Israel.
08:00 I've been there five times.
08:02 Amazing, amazing people, amazing country.
08:04 And we should do everything we can to help them.
08:05 The quickest way to do that is to elect a speaker.
08:07 Thank you all very much.
08:09 [ Inaudible ]