Biden: Jordan ‘got his rear end kicked’ in Speaker bid

President Biden on Friday took a swipe at House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), after the congressman failed to secure the speakership following three separate votes.

“He just got his rear end kicked,” Biden said at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C.

The president recounted to supporters how Jordan failed to bring in the majority of votes needed to win the Speaker’s gavel on the floor three times, leading the Republican conference to hold a secret ballot over whether to move on from the Ohio Republican as its Speaker nominee.

Multiple reports indicated more than 110 House Republicans voted to find another candidate.

The comments were Biden’s most direct about the latest Speaker drama unfolding with House Republicans. On Wednesday, he declined to weigh in on Jordan’s struggles, saying sarcastically, “I ache for him.”

Jordan is a longtime ally of former President Trump, who has been among the most outspoken Republicans in pushing investigations into Biden and his family. He also was among those who supported overturning the 2020 election results, and on Friday morning would still not definitively say that Biden’s win was legitimate.

The House has been without a Speaker for more than two weeks since Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from the role when eight Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), joined with Democrats to remove McCarthy.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Jordan have since both been nominated as Speaker by the conference — but both failed to rally enough support to win the gavel. Scalise withdrew his bid just one day after narrowly securing the nomination.

Several Republicans in the House are now considering a bid, or have announced one, for the position. A forum is scheduled for early next week to determine the conference’s next choice for the job.

Biden and his aides have largely stayed out of the chaos, declining to weigh in on the scramble over who will be the next Speaker and deferring to lawmakers about what comes next.

But White House and campaign aides have in recent days been increasingly willing to draw attention to the dysfunction of the House GOP, arguing voters will ultimately reward Biden for focusing on the public’s priorities while the opposing party squabbles.