Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) failed bid Tuesday for Speaker of the House was thanks in part to Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), who explained that he instead voted for his friend, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), as “a joke” since the job is a “terrible one.” Appearing on CNN minutes after the vote—in which 19 Republicans voted against Jordan—Buck was asked if he really wants Emmer to fill the role. “No, I don’t. I don’t like Tom Emmer,” Buck said with a smirk. “I figured this would be the worst job in America. Mike Rowe would not want to do this for his TV show. This is a terrible job,” he told anchor Dana Bash. After a clip of Buck’s comments gained traction online, the Colorado congressman felt compelled to clear things up. “Just to clarify, this was a joke,” he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “The office of Speaker is the hardest job in Washington. I wouldn’t wish that on my good friend @GOPMajorityWhip.”
