Ken Buck says he’s had 4 death threats amid Speaker vote

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) is the latest member of Congress to report receiving death threats related to the House GOP’s internal conflict over selecting the next Speaker.

In an NBC interview Thursday, Buck said his office has received four death threats over his refusal to support Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) effort to become Speaker. In both Speaker ballots this week, Buck voted for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

“Right now is this constant barrage of phone calls, we have — I have six full-time people answering the phones,” he said. Out of 20,000 messages, he added, “so far I’ve had four death threats.”

Buck also said he’s lost office space from a landlord upset with his opposition to Jordan.

“I’ve been evicted from my office in Colorado. I have notice of an eviction because the landlord is mad with my voting record on the Speaker issue,” he said. “And everybody in the conference is getting this. Family members have been approached and threatened. All kinds of things are going on. There’s going to be some tension.”

Republican Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa), Drew Ferguson (Ga.) and Don Bacon (Neb.) have also reported threats for not backing Jordan.

Twenty-two Republicans voted against Jordan in the second Speaker vote Wednesday, two more than the 20 who voted against him on the first ballot. He won 199 votes, one fewer than a day before. He needs 217 votes on the floor to be named Speaker with all 433 members present. A third ballot is expected Friday.

In the Thursday interview, Buck, one of eight Republicans who voted with Democrats to unseat former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), said Jordan should give up his attempts to lead the House.

“I think the best move is for Jim to withdraw at this point,” he said. “I think he may need another vote to be convinced that he’s not going to get there, which is fine. He was the nominee. The conference should give him that respect. But I think at some point, we need to move on and find the 217 votes for a plan.”

Jordan held a press conference Friday morning, however, that suggested he’s not close to giving up his push for the Speakership. On Thursday, Jordan briefly supported giving temporary powers to Speaker Pro Rem Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), but it soon became clear that dozens of Republicans opposed that effort.

Buck said he would support making McHenry the Speaker, but only for a limited period. 

“I would give a vote to make him the Speaker of the House for a temporary time period, and I would during that time period work very hard with my Republican colleagues to try to find the 217 votes to make sure that we have a permanent Speaker for the rest of this conference,” he said.