Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Wednesday that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is "very close" to being elected as the next House speaker.
"I think it's very close," Burchett said on "Wake Up America," when asked if Jordan will get the 217 votes he needs to become speaker on Wednesday after falling short Tuesday. "The lobbyists are working very, very hard against him. ... That tells me Jim Jordan probably would be an excellent speaker."
Burchett was asked why lobbyists are opposing Jordan.
"We continue going down this road of these continued resolutions and omnibus [spending bills], and they [lobbyists] love that because there's no hearings on the individual spending in the budget, so they basically get greased," Burchett said.
He went on to say that lobbyists "get tucked in there all kinds of, billions and billions and now it's almost trillions of dollars, for their pet projects."
Burchett also said that there are three groups of House legislators that "feel endangered by Jim Jordan," which he called "the appropriators," the "freshmen," and the "warhawks."
"There's three parties in Congress, really," Burchett said. "There's Republicans, there's Democrats, and [there's] appropriators. They kind of have their own thing. Then you have the folks … from the freshmen, the younger group" of recently elected legislators.
"And then you have the folks that … some people call them ‘warhawks' or whatever, they're not necessarily bad folks, they're just aggressive with our military."
Asked who Republicans could turn to if Jordan fails to win enough votes to become speaker, Burchett said, "I don't know, really. That's why I'm focusing just on Jim."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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