Gutter politics: Battle for US Speaker descends into death threats

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Washington: Republican infighting over who should become the next Speaker of the House has taken a vicious turn, with supporters of Donald Trump-ally Jim Jordan allegedly making death threats and vile phone calls to people who refuse to back him.

In one particularly menacing case, the wife of an unnamed Republican received an anonymous call describing him as a “Deep State p—k” and telling her: “We’re gonna come f—–g follow you all over the place, we’re gonna be up your ass non-stop”.

Jim Jordan failed on the first two ballots to win the US House speakership.Credit: Bloomberg

“We’re at war, Israeli’s being killed and your dumb f—–g husband is acting like a f—–g two-year-old,” a man says on audio of the phone call, which was leaked to CNN.

Another Republican, Drew Ferguson, revealed on social media that he and his family received death threats after he reversed his decision to back Jordan, while Nebraska congressman Don Bacon said his wife began sleeping with a loaded gun after receiving increasingly menacing calls and texts.

Jordan insists he did not endorse the actions, which many Republicans have condemned. But they nonetheless underscore the bitter civil war within the party, whose members have been unable to coalesce around a Speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted more than two weeks ago by a small group of hardline rebels.

Kevin McCarthyCredit: AP

Since then, Congress has been paralysed, unable to deal with funding requests to support Israel or Ukraine, or broker a deal to avert a government shutdown in mid-November.

Thursday brought one of the more farcical episodes, when Jordan, a conservative warrior backed by Trump and his Make America Great Again faction, halted his bid and agreed to back North Carolina congressman Patrick McHenry as a caretaker, simply so the House of Representatives could start to function again.

However, this idea was thwarted by some of Jordan’s own supporters, resulting in him declaring he would once again try to get the 217 votes needed.

“The House of Representatives needs a Speaker, not a speaker-light,” Matt Gaetz, the far-right firebrand who led the coup against McCarthy, told reporters at Capitol Hill.

Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, who led the charge to oust Kevin McCarthy.Credit: AP

“When I held out with Speaker McCarthy, we had goals, we had specific things we were fighting for. I think a reasonable question to those that are holding out or not voting for Jordan is what are you fighting for? What are your goals? What are your objectives here other than just recalcitrance?”

The to-ing and fro-ing was the latest turn in a drama reminiscent of the chaotic scenes that played out in January when it took McCarthy 15 voting rounds to secure the job among Republican discord.

Such divisions set the stage for what could be a long and drawn-out fight on the floor of the chamber where Republicans hold 221 seats and Democrats 212. In the first round of voting for Jordan, 20 Republicans voted against him. In the second round he went backwards, with 22 voting against him.

The fiasco is also a blow for Trump, who gave his high-profile endorsement to Jordan. Jordan had supported his bid to subvert the 2020 election and is now overseeing the impeachment probe into President Joe Biden and his family’s business dealings.

Jordan is also the co-founder of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, does not support providing ongoing aid to Ukraine as it fights off a Russian invasion, and is one of the many Republicans who objected to the certification of Biden’s election victory.

His reputation as a bomb thrower has not won him over with moderates in the party, while others simply don’t wish to reward the hardliners who ousted McCarthy in the first place. Some are also aggrieved at the pressure and threats they have faced to vote for him.

Among them is New York freshman Nick LaLota, who was told in one email: “If I see your face, I will whip all the hair out of your head you scumbag”.

Asked why he thought this was happening, he replied: “Because there’s a couple of jerks in our world who, if they can’t get their way, they need to take to social media and make those sorts of threats.

“It’s probably some kid in their mom’s basement just having a bad night. I won’t be deterred by those threats.”

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