One of the more combative and outspoken members of the House of Representatives was vocally booed and shouted down in a contentious vote on Tuesday.
Lawmakers from across the country gathered in the House Chambers to attempt to elect a new speaker of the House in a floor vote.
Fiery Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is squaring off with Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and a C-SPAN video captured most of the drama of that first vote.
Most representatives voted along party lines, with the handful of Republicans refusing to endorse Jordan being the primary impediment to electing a new speaker.
Given that, it was little surprise that when it came time for Rep. Maxine Waters of California to cast her vote, she voiced her support for Jeffries.
But Waters, who has a penchant for speaking first and thinking later, couldn’t help herself and wasn’t able to just vote for Jeffries.
She had to try and take a completely unprovoked and unprompted shot at Jordan — a shot that was resoundingly jeered and shouted down.
You can watch the relevant clip below:
Maxine Waters gets jeered when she starts to cut a promo on “insurrectionist” Jim Jordan pic.twitter.com/F7jWs3TR31
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 17, 2023
Will Jim Jordan be elected speaker?
Yes: 93% (422 Votes)
No: 7% (34 Votes)
While it’s difficult to discern exactly what was said in the video, you can clearly hear Waters mention the word “insurrectionist” while referring to Jordan before a cascade of boos crashed down on her.
According to Politico’s Olivia Beavers, Jordan’s response to Waters was little more than a smirk — before another Republican dropped the hammer with a biting insult.
Jordan laughs when Rep. Maxine Waters calls Jordan an “insurrectionist.”
One House R says loudly: “Huh? What did the communist say?”
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) October 17, 2023
Per Beavers, after Waters’ snide remark about Jordan, another House Republican jumped in and asked, “Huh? What did the communist say?”
Other reporters corroborated the touchy exchange.
Maxine Waters rises to vote for Jeffries, calling him a true patriot, and saying Jordan was an insurrectionist.
Groans from the Republicans side, with one member shouting “what did the communist say?”
— Casey J. Wooten (@Casey_J_Wooten) October 17, 2023
On a more macro level, while Waters may be getting in her verbal shots now, it appears unlikely that there is any viable path forward for Jeffries to somehow leapfrog Jordan in the GOP-controlled House.
To do so, not only would every single Democrat have to vote for Jeffries, but at least five Republicans would have to, as well.
As deeply fractured as the GOP currently seems, it seems unfathomable that any GOP representative would vote for a Democrat — a decision akin to career suicide.
As of early Tuesday afternoon, Jordan still does not have the 217 votes needed to secure the speakership, but he is slowly winning over the straggling Republicans who have not gotten behind the Ohio lawmaker yet.
