Former Vice President Mike Pence was asked Friday why he is backing Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as the GOP’s next candidate for Speaker of the House given that the Ohio congressman supported the idea that Pence had authority to block the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win on Jan. 6—something that Pence said he didn’t. “Jim Jordan would be an outstanding speaker of the House,” Pence said on CNN’s The Source, adding that Jordan is “a principled conservative.” Anchor Kaitlan Collins found that endorsement “remarkable” given Jordan’s text to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows outlining his views the day before the insurrection. “I mean, do you really believe that’s someone who should be third in line for the presidency?” she asked. Pence admitted the two men have a “difference of opinion” regarding the vice president’s role in certifying electors, but seemed adamant that Jordan would still “lead with integrity.”
