‘It’ll Be Jim Jordan’: Kinzinger Predicts Ex-Colleagues Will Elect Ohio Republican Next Speaker

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said he believes his former Republican colleagues will elect Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) the next speaker of the House.

Appearing on Wednesday’s AC360 on CNN, Kinzinger gamed out what’s next for the House GOP conference after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was stripped of his speakership on Tuesday. McCarthy ran afoul of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and seven other Republicans, who joined 208 Democrats to oust him.

Jordan and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) have declared their candidacies for the position, which during McCarthy’s tenure needed only one member to force a vote on the speaker’s fate.

“Do you think the next speaker – whether it’s Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, or someone else – will have to cut deals with the far right members in the same way?” Anderson Cooper asked Kinzinger. “Will they have to agree to the same? You know, one person can vacate the chair?”

“I think so,” he replied. “I mean, I think the only way that changes is if we go a month without a speaker and we have multiple races, and eventually people are desperate to put a speaker in.”

Kinzinger went on to say he believes Jordan is “gonna be in the catbird seat on this.”

He explained:

I think if it was secret ballot, Steve Scalise would win overwhelmingly, or anybody but Jim Jordan. But what you’re going to start seeing, Anderson, is on the emails, on the fundraising, on other cable news networks, Jim is gonna be now the new litmus test of, are you a true conservative or not? Steve Scalise won’t be. It’ll be Jim Jordan.

And so, there will be a slow acquiescence of everybody to Jim Jordan. That’s my prediction. I certainly hope for the country I’m wrong. But I’ll also say this. If he becomes speaker, it will be interesting to see how a shut-it-all-down kind of guy actually governs a country.

Watch above via CNN.