Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Tuesday that he's optimistic that Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will receive the 217 votes needed in the House to become the new speaker.
Voting resumes Tuesday at noon ET.
"I think when we get in there at noon today, you may see a similar kind of scenario play out just as we saw with [former Speaker] Kevin McCarthy [in January]," Fitzgerald said on "Wake Up America." "I hope it doesn't go to 15 votes, but I also think Jim's a lot closer than what some people imagine at this point. So, I'm hopeful that that first vote gives us an idea of who's there and who isn't, and that Jim can work with those individuals to get there very quickly."
House members voted McCarthy out of his speakership 216-210 two weeks ago when Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., brought a motion to the floor to vacate the chair.
Ousting McCarthy brought regular business in the House to a halt until a new speaker is elected.
Fitzgerald said that a Republican conference meeting Monday night included "tough questions" for Jordan by those concerned about government spending and others still upset about removing McCarthy.
"The conference was very emotional [again] last night," Fitzgerald said. "You could almost watch people kind of going through their own therapeutic kind of thought process as they have had whiplash back and forth between what happened 14 days ago, but I did feel kind of a consensus building.
"The room was not full. There were a lot of members that were not in [Washington] D.C. last night. That might have been on purpose. I'm not sure but I feel like Jim is the guy. I've been with him since the whole thing with McCarthy because he kind of cuts across the spectrum of this conference. He can bring people together now."
Fitzgerald said Jordan has a plan to help the House get through the end of the year and keep the diverging members of his caucus together.
"We're just trying to kind of put this together to appease some of the members that are still focused on spending, yet we have those on appropriations, we have members that certainly, I think, are worried about what this could do to defense as we talk about reductions in spending," Fitzgerald said. "So, it's an odd mix of items that are brought to the mic."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.