In a recent interview with Christiane Amanpour for CNN, Hillary Clinton — whose past roles in government include a stint in the Senate and time as Secretary of State — blasted what Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) represents from the Republican Party as the Ohioan jockeys to become House Speaker following Kevin McCarthy. More of that process of reestablishing someone in McCarthy’s old position is expected to move forward this week.
“He is one of the principal ringleaders of the circus that’s been created in the Republican Party for the last several years,” Clinton said, discussing Jordan. She also referenced his part in the Congressional GOP’s investigations of violence in Benghazi, a Libyan location where a U.S. embassy was formerly located.
“When do [these Republicans] put the country first?” Clinton continued. “They do not represent a majority of even the Republican Party when you look at the extremists in the House. They certainly don’t represent a majority of the country. Somebody has to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’ We can have disagreements. I’m all for that. I was in the Senate for eight years. I worked with a lot of Republicans and opposed them when I didn’t agree. But at some point there needs to be a backlash against the control that this small group of extremists have.”
It remains unclear who will actually become the Speaker after McCarthy, a California Republican, was booted last week. He lost the role after a small group of Republicans joined Democrats in opposing his continuance in the position following a motion for his removal from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Democrats, who have achieved greater party unity than Republicans throughout the now multiple rounds of going after the Speakership, didn’t categorically dismiss the possibility of some agreement with McCarthy to salvage his stint as Speaker and keep the House at least somewhat moving forward, but McCarthy apparently wasn’t interested! Only Republicans currently have the numbers to act on their own in the House.
Hillary Clinton reacts to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) running for House Speaker:
“I don’t know him well. I watched him and stared at him for 11 hours while he made stuff up about me … He is one of the principal ringleaders of the circus that’s been created in the Republican Party.” pic.twitter.com/mBoZLX6aoF
— The Recount (@therecount) October 5, 2023
