House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said on Sunday that his first official act as the new Speaker, should he win the race, will be to provide as much assistance to Israel as possible.
The Ohio Republican made his comments during an interview with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that Israel would be one of two priorities, the other being the passage of a long-term budget ahead of the expiration of the current continuing resolution.
“Let me turn to the speaker’s race and this candidate forum on Tuesday and then the vote on Wednesday. Can you walk us through how this plays out?” Bartiromo asked.
“Well, I’m running because, look, I think — I think I’m the one candidate who can unite our conference and then go tell the American people what we’re doing and why it matters to them, why it’s important to their family, to their community, to their small business, why it’s important what we’re doing for our country,” Jordan began.
“The American people right now, Maria, I think are — they are so thirsty for leadership. And I don’t think they’re seeing it from the White House. I don’t think they’re getting it from the Senate,” he continued. “House Republicans need to unite and show the country that we’re fighting for them. Think about what they see every day, crime in the streets, 10,000 illegals coming across the border every single day, the price of food, what it costs to put gas in their car.
“I mean, they are hungry for leadership. We need to come together and show the American people we’re fighting for the things they care about that will make a difference for our great country,” he said.
Bartiromo then asked: “As speaker of the House, what would be your direction in the face of war in the Middle East right now? We are looking at a candidate, yourself and Steve Scalise vying for the job. President Trump has endorsed you. He wrote on TRUTH Social over the weekend that he would like to see you as speaker of the House. But tell me what your first directive would be as speaker.”
JORDAN: To help the state of Israel. There will be some resolution on the floor to support the state of Israel. We will consult with Chairman McCaul. We will consult with the Senate.
We will work with the State Department and the White House. But that is something that I think gets bipartisan, bicameral, full support from the United States government, because, again, this is our great friend and great ally, the state of Israel.
So, I think that’s front and center. And then, frankly, the next order of business is to deal with what’s coming on November 17. And I will outline a plan that I think we have to have. When we walk out of that room next week, we have got to have 218 votes for a Republican speaker and we have got to have 218 votes for how we deal with November 17, when the funding bill for the government runs — comes due.
We need to have a plan for how we’re going to deal with that. And I will outline that in front of my colleagues on Tuesday, when we get together.
