LIVE: Jim Jordan Holds Press Conference

Thank you all for coming. You know, a few years ago, Polly and I got a call from some friends living in the Dayton, Ohio area. We live about 40 miles north of there, and they asked if we were free to go to dinner with them a few nights later. And we said, sure. And they said, before we go to dinner, we're going to tour the Wright Brothers' homes. And we said, we said, great. We enjoy history. Let's learn about these amazing two Americans. And so we go there, and we paid the lady at the door $5 from the Historical Society. And you go on this tour, and you learn all these amazing things about the Wright Brothers. You learn about the bicycle shop and the other things, the gadgets and gizmos they tinkered with and built. Fascinating tour. Last stop on the tour is Orville Wright's bedroom. And they tell you a few more things about this particular Wright Brother. And then they close the tour out by showing you two pictures. First picture they hold up that very first flight, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in this thing they called a plane. And you first thought you'd see that, and you thought, how did that thing get off the ground? And the truth is, it barely did. It flew like 100 feet, got a few feet off the ground. And you're thinking about that, and you sort of remember that picture from eighth grade, ninth grade, whenever they teach you that in school. And I thought, well, that's amazing. They put that picture down, and then they hold up a second picture. 44 years later, 1947, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier in a jet. And I was like, wow. That I didn't know. That's amazing. And 44 years ago from two guys flying 100 feet to another American breaking the sound barrier in a jet. And literally, that was the end of the tour. They put that picture down, and Polly and I start walking out. And as we're walking out that door, it hit me. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Why did they stop there? I represent Wapakoneta, Ohio, Allglace County, Ohio, hometown of Neil Armstrong, who 22 years after Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier, steps on the moon. Stop and think about it. In 66 years, one lifetime, we went from two guys flying 100 feet to putting a man on the moon. It is a great country. A great country, the greatest country in my judgment, made up of great people. And right now, those people, I think, are starting to doubt and wonder about their government and about where our nation is headed. They see an open border. They see crime in the streets. They know what it costs to put gas in their car. They know what it costs to put food on the table. They see a war in Israel, our strongest ally, Israel, and what's happening there, and the help that Israel needs. And they see a government that's been weaponized against we, the people. The very government that's supposed to serve us has been turned on the taxpayers who pay for it. I think the American people are thirsty for change. I think they are hungry for leadership. And frankly, they know that the White House can't provide it. They know the Senate won't lead. And they are looking for House Republicans to step up and lead and make change on these important issues. We've got important work to do. Important work to do. We need to help Israel. We need to get the appropriations process moving so that the key elements of our government are funded and funded in the right way, particularly our military. We need to get back to our committee work. And frankly, we need to continue the oversight work that I think is so darn important. In short, we need to get to work for the American people. We need to do what we said we were going to do. We need to do what we told them we were going to do when they elected us and put us in office. And frankly, we can't do that if the House isn't open. We can't open the House until we get a speaker. My favorite scripture verse is 2 Timothy 4.7. Paul is the old guy giving advice to the young guy, Timothy. And he says, fight the good fight. Finish the course. Keep the faith. And I tell folks, I love that verse because of the action in it. Because of the Americans aren't timid folks. They are people of action. And the words in that verse, fight, finish, keep, I think fit the American spirit. Americans expect their government to fight for them. They expect us to finish our work. And they expect us to keep faith with the principles and values that made us the greatest nation ever. Made us the nation that could go from the Wright brothers to Neil Armstrong. That's what we have to keep in mind. And that's the kind of attitude I think we got to have. The quickest way to get all this working is to get a speaker elected. That's what I hope we can do today. I'll take your questions. Stop. You all said that we were going to lose between the first vote and the second vote. You all said we were going to lose 10 to 15 votes. We stayed the same. We picked up a few. We lost a few. I think the ones we lost can come back. Look, there's been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before. We all know that. I just know that we need to get a speaker as soon as possible so we can get to work for the American people. You're making the case for why we need to get the House open so we can evaluate the package. We can't do that. Can't vote on that. Can't pass anything in that until we get the House open. So I got to see the package. But we certainly need to help Israel. But I got to see the package. But again, we can't do that if the House isn't open. All the more reason why we need to get the House open as soon as possible. Again, I think you're making my case. I got 200 votes. The speaker designee from my colleagues. The sooner we can get this accomplished, the better for the American people who expect us to work for them and for our friends and allies like the great state of Israel. We had a good conversation. We'll continue to do that. But as I point out, the fastest way to get to work for the American people is to elect a speaker so the House can be open and we can get things done. I'll take a couple more. I think there were all kinds of problems with the 2020 election. I've been clear about that. My intention in forwarding the email was an argument made by former Inspector General for Donald Rumsfeld, accomplished lawyer who laid out an argument from the Federalist Papers. Our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected to the House of Representatives as soon as possible so we can help the American people. We stand with Israel. I've been there five times. Amazing people, amazing country. We should do everything we can to help them. The quickest way to do that is to elect a speaker. Thank you all very much.