A heavy-handed effort to convince fellow Republicans to support Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) bid for Speaker of the House did not have the effect its architects intended, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said Tuesday on Fox News, adding that he had spoken with colleagues who felt that the pressure campaign—from the likes of Fox host Sean Hannity and others within the GOP caucus—was “not what they needed.”
Donalds, who voted for Jordan, was asked by Fox’s Sandra Smith if some representatives considered the tactics to be a “turn off.”
“I believe it was,” he replied.
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Donalds made his appearance on the network shortly after 20 Republicans voted against Jordan, dooming his prospects for the gavel on the first ballot.
“I’ve talked to a couple of members where they felt that that’s just not what they needed,” Donalds added. “I don’t think that’s what we should be doing right now.”
As reported late Sunday, Hannity had been reaching out to lawmakers in an apparent attempt to shame Jordan’s opponents into voting for him. Amid criticism, the longtime Fox News host defended his actions, saying on his show Monday that some Republicans in the House are “sensitive little snowflakes.”
But several House Republicans who cast their votes for someone other than Jordan have gone on the record over their displeasure with the pressure that has been put on them.
Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, who voted for Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), told POLITICO: “The one thing that will never work with me—if you try to pressure me, if you try to threaten me, then I shut off.”
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) said after his vote for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) that he will continue to stand his ground—“especially now, in the light of these pressure tactics.” And Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told the outlet that while Jordan himself has “been nice, one-on-one,” his “broader team has been playing hardball.”
Donalds added that while “it’s important for members to hear your voice,” some of his colleagues “want to be able to make this decision on leadership and then move forward.”
“I think some of the pressure campaigns have backfired. They have not worked,” he said.
“And so I think that right now, under the leadership of Jim Jordan, you know, I would request that people just take a break, take a pause,” he said. “Let the members work and figure this out amongst ourselves so we can elect Jim Jordan as speaker and then we can get back to the work that we have to do.”
The House has not had a speaker since McCarthy’s ouster on Oct. 3.
