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Oct. 12, 2023 - Sean Hannity Show
41:28
Battle for the House - October 11th, Hour 1

Sean has reaction to the battle for the House Speakership and the latest on Scalise and Jordan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Like many of you, I am finding myself on the verge of frustration and outright anger at the utter, complete ignorance that exists both in this country and around the world.
And what is nothing short of virulent hatred, radical anti-Semitism, and how it's on display.
And how, you know, somehow people don't have the ability to understand who the real victims are here and just want to dismiss what it is that, in fact, Hamas is responsible for here.
We've been reporting it all.
We've got a lot more to report to you because, you know, and Israel is going to respond and it doesn't need the world's permission.
And if there's any mistake that Israel can make right now, it would be to give a hoot about what any other country thinks or says.
Now, while they have public support around the world from any reasonable people, it probably would be better to do it sooner or later.
However, that is easier said than done because I would bet my bottom dollar that Gaza has been booby-trapped to death.
I would imagine IEDs as we speak are being planted in the path of where they anticipate Israeli soldiers will be walking to kill them and blow them up.
So it is with great care that Israel will on their timeline, you know, respond with massive, overwhelming force.
And it's going to happen.
You know, as Prime Minister Netanyahu said, this will resonate with Israel's enemies for generations.
It will change forever the Middle East.
This is not hyperbole on his part.
If there has been one world leader for decades that has had that consistent moral clarity and message, that person has been Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And he doesn't need Joe Biden's support either.
And Joe Biden's, you know, flipping, flopping, flailing, inability to even mention the word Iran or hold Iran responsible or even pull back the $6 billion.
Yes, it's fungible.
And anyone that tells you anything differently is just ignorant.
And this obsession to do business and get along with, and can't we be friends with the number one sponsor, state sponsor of terrorism is beyond any comprehension I can gather up inside of me.
Right now, we have more than 100,000 Israeli soldiers amassed at Gaza's border.
They have 300,000 reservists that are up and ready to follow.
They are ready to go.
This promise of the prime minister will be fulfilled, but it will be done in their time.
I'm not on the ground.
I'm not part of their intelligence gathering.
I don't have the knowledge to advise them.
I would say sooner rather than later would always work out well.
And the people of Gaza, just so you know, because the world media mob and the UN and all these world organizations will be condemning Israel for defending itself.
The residents of Gaza have been receiving text messages, very loud warnings on multiple platforms to flee immediately with the quote, you stay and you will die.
I've known B.B. Netanyahu for years.
I'm telling you, I can assure you, he means what he says.
He will follow through.
And the days of Hamas brutalizing this region will come to an end.
That will be the net result because this can't continue, especially as the weaponry gets more and more sophisticated and more deadly.
But they're about to be annihilated in Gaza.
You know, while I was on TV last night, we were on from 9 to 11 p.m.
While I was on TV, the Israelis, their fighter jets, 450 strikes in two hours while I was on the air last night.
Now, understand this.
Israel, this is a fight for their survival.
And the more that we learn about last weekend's barbaric terror attacks, it is, you know, in the video that I was showing on my TV show tonight, we'll show you more tonight.
I wish I could show some of it to its conclusion.
It is something that mature adults need to absorb.
It's sad.
It shocks the conscience and the soul of good people, but it is also the reality of evil that exists in this world.
And if you don't understand what evil is, you cannot defeat it and don't have the moral compulsion to destroy it.
What is evil about?
Killing, stealing, destroying.
And that's what Hamas terrorists did this past weekend.
Murdering entire families in the most brutal ways imaginable.
You know, even killing the pets.
I mean, seriously?
Setting homes ablaze.
You know, some Israelis shot, others stabbed, women beaten, women raped, even Holocaust survivors.
Young kids abducted.
According to one report, one young Israeli couple, you know, murdered inside their home.
They're only able to save their twin babies, hiding them in a safe room.
They weren't found for 12 hours later.
Thank God they're okay.
You know, the dead bodies.
Does anybody, is there anybody that does not get moved by the fact that we have video and we have pictures of 40 babies murdered, beheaded by Hamas?
Do these sound like people you can negotiate with or have a ceasefire agreement with?
Do these sound like people that people in the halls of Congress ought to be defending?
I don't think so.
You know, this is happening in real time.
A slaughter of innocent people.
You know, men, women, children.
And, you know, and then Hamas did now, even when they're dead, they're shooting them again and kicking him in the head again.
Haven't seen those videos?
I've seen them.
We have now over a thousand.
Now, if you extrapolate it out, I keep telling you, that would be the equivalent of over 35,000 Americans killed based on population.
Others abducted.
Now, I've been watching family members on TV of people that have been abducted.
They're dying to get their family members back.
But don't worry, Joe Biden, they said at the presser today, not him, but his spokesperson, well, we don't have quite a plan yet, but we're sending in SEALs.
I don't have a lot of hope for them.
And I hate to ever say that.
There's always hope, but there's not a lot of hope.
And how do people commit such atrocities and evil?
Last night I actually showed on TV the indoctrination, the cartoons that kids in Gaza grow up with.
It's not like Bugs Bunny and the Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote.
It's not like that.
It's not like Leave It the Beaver, Dennis the Menace.
None of that.
And then you see in Chicago, you know, you see in New York City, Free Palestine, massive crowds.
They're happy about what happened this weekend.
Chicago, Black Lives Matter, standing in solidarity with Hamas.
That means we're terrorists.
Student leaders on college campuses around the country, they're planning their day of resistance in support of Hamas.
Dozens of 31 groups at Harvard blame Israel and Israel alone for this.
By the way, we got a great debate tonight.
Two Harvard professors, Alan Dershowitz and Cornell West.
Cornell West is defending the student groups, and Alan Dershowitz is not.
That might get interesting.
But all of this is now happening.
And by the way, our southern border is wide open.
And what do we have happening in the halls of Congress as we speak?
What's going on there?
We got Congresswoman Tlaib refusing to condemn Hamas for beheading babies.
You know, this is pretty amazing.
Listen to Hillary Vaughan.
She's a White House correspondent for the Fox News channel, trying to get a simple answer of Congresswoman Tlaib.
She's the one, I believe, that took the picture with the Palestinian flag and the American flag this week in the halls of Congress.
Listen to this exchange.
Terrorists have cut off babies' heads and burned children alive.
Do you support Israel's rights to defend themselves against this brutality?
We're just going to go through here.
comment about Hamas terrorists chopping up babies heads?
You have nothing to say about Hamas terrorists popping off babies' heads.
Do you condone what Hamas has done, chopping off babies' heads, burning children alive?
Ready when you discreet?
You have no comment about children's heads being chopped off.
Congressman, why do you have the Palestinians line outside your office if you do not condone what Hamas terrorists have done to Israel?
Do Israeli lives not matter to you?
And other squad members, Corey Bush, Congresswoman Omar, calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.
You know, how do you not answer a simple question?
Congresswoman, we have evidence that Hamas terrorists cut off babies' heads and burned children alive.
Do you support Israel's right to defend themselves?
Will you condemn this?
Why do you have the Palestinian flag outside of your office?
That's happening in the halls of Congress.
And that's nothing compared to what's going on worldwide.
Squad members silent on Hamas.
You know, one Democratic Colorado representative, state rep, said, you know, well, what about it when confronted over an innocent woman being raped by Hamas?
What about it?
Do you condemn the murder of women and children in the streets by Palestinian terrorists?
I condemn any form of colonial violence because I believe in it.
Do you consider?
Do you consider me so you can get some Twitter clout or what?
I asked if liberating Palestine involves murdering women and children in the streets.
I told you I believe in the liberation of Palestine.
I've already answered that question.
And I think it's despicable what they're protesting for.
Congratulations.
Congratulations.
And the fact that you can't condemn women and children and elderly people.
What about that?
Do you get the point?
I already said that.
He won't answer the question.
Student groups in California University facing a backlash over a pro-Palestinian rally, you know, featuring the paragliders that killed those innocent kids that were having a peaceful party in the desert.
260 of them slaughtered.
You have an NYU law student president saying Israel bears responsibility for the terror attack in their newsletter.
Thankfully, that cost her her cushy law job.
Cornell University slammed for disturbing posts calling Hamas terror attacks of resistance.
Senior Biden advisors legal group pledging to defend Hamas sympathizers in New York City.
Harvard shrugs at outright virulent anti-Semitic and Jewish hatred.
And what happened to these woke universities?
I thought this was not acceptable anymore.
What happened?
I thought we lived in these politically correct times.
A billionaire hedge fund manager doesn't want to hire Harvard students blaming Israel for the Hamas attacks.
Why would they want to hire them?
But this is happening now all over the country.
You have anti-Semitic students on campuses plotting a day of resistance to support Hamas.
Students for Justice in Palestine, a vigil for the martyrs of Palestine.
You see, Cornell West on Harvard students, they're largely right, but they lack nuance.
I can't wait till Alan Dershowitz and him debate tonight.
That's going to get interesting.
Harvard president responds to student groups blaming, okay, you know, could you imagine if this were ever done by a conservative group against any liberal group, what the reaction would be?
This is happening around our country.
And I'm not even talking about what's happening in London and England.
I'm not even talking about the chanting going on in Australia.
Gas the Jews, F the Jews, gas the Jews, F. Jews!
Why is that Jews?
Why does that Jews?
This world's gone mad.
It's really bad.
Anybody with a conscience, a heart, and a soul knows who the victim is here.
For the rest of you, I don't care about your ignorance.
Hey there, I'm Mary Catherine Hamm.
And I'm Carol Markowitz.
We've been in political media for a long time.
Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.
That's why we started Normally, a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.
We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor.
We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.
So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sass.
You're our kind of people.
Catch new episodes of Normally every Tuesday and Thursday.
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I'm Ben Ferguson.
And I'm Ted Cruz.
Three times a week, we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.
Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.
And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.
We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.
So download Verdict with Ted Cruz Now wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey there, I'm Mary Catherine Ham.
And I'm Carol Markowitz.
We've been in political media for a long time.
Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.
That's why we started Normally, a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.
We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor.
We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.
So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sass.
You're our kind of people.
Catch new episodes of Normally every Tuesday and Thursday.
On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen.
I'm Ben Ferguson.
And I'm Ted Cruz.
Three times a week we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.
Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.
And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.
We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.
So download Verdict with Ted Cruz Now wherever you get your podcasts.
I got something to talk about and it goes to the core values of all of us as Americans.
My cell phone company.
25 to the top of the hour.
Thank you for being with us, 800, 941 Sean, if you want to program.
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800-941 Sean is our number.
Now, a lot of people are asking, Hannity, what about the $6 billion that Joe Biden has freed up from a South Korean bank?
And I love how Democrats are trying to spend this.
Well, Hannity, look at the details.
Newsweek has put out an article.
Donald Trump allowed people to purchase, as if he's able to stop them, oil from Iran.
Well, the only one president that did that was Joe Biden.
Remember the year we kind of caught them?
I think it was right after 20, once he became president that first year, didn't he take in a million dollars or import a million barrels of oil from Iran?
Nobody seemed to pay attention.
We picked up on it.
We talked about it.
We asked for comment.
We don't get anybody to comment back.
It's amazing.
But they do have a bill, Marsha Blackburn, who was on this program last week, put forward that would force Joe Biden to put that money back in South Korea, back in that bank, and make it unavailable to the mullahs of Iran because they need to do that.
Why are we enriching the mullahs of Iran?
And I will tell you, if you want to get to the bottom line of all of this, we now know Wall Street Journal reporting, we went over last weekend in great specificity and detail how Iran was up to their eyeballs in the plotting, the planning, the scheming, the approval, even using the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to plan this attack against Israel, these attacks, because it's also Lebanon in the north and obviously Gaza.
And here's something that's interesting.
If you want to call your senator and tell them, yeah, please freeze the money, the $6 billion, the number over there is 202.
You know, be polite.
202-224-3121.
Linda, I'm going to call your pastor.
You're backsliding.
You are backsliding.
We need to remind the American people.
No, no, no, no, no.
The senators work for us.
We are their constituents.
We are theirs.
Oh, I agree with that part, but you know that's not what I'm talking about.
So therefore, tell him to issue the damn sanctions against damn banks and stop funding Hamas.
Common sense, people.
Iran Hamas.
It's not hard.
I could do it with a dang Twizzler.
What's your pastor's number?
I'm not giving you that.
Why don't you call the Senate?
202-224-3121.
Start with good old Mitchie.
202-224-3121.
202-224-31.
Am I wrong?
Am I wrong?
No, I'm not wrong.
No, you're not wrong.
Everybody knows.
I am calling your pastor.
I'm going to find a way to get in touch with him.
Anyway, 800-941-Sean is our number.
If you want to be a part of the party.
Pet Pergram is going to join us in just a moment.
He's doing an FNC hit, and he's popping right over to you, boss.
Hopping right over to me.
All right.
So in the House today, in the battle for the Senate, I don't think we're going to have a vote today.
The initial vote in conference earlier today was, let's see, 113 for Steve Scalise, 99 for Jim Jordan, which many thought indicate, which many believe indicates that Steve Scalise will probably be the winner.
Here's the problem.
And I don't know why Republicans can't get their act together on this because it's kind of a pivotal time.
The Republicans kind of need a speaker.
Unless a new speaker is chosen, the House, the chamber is frozen.
And the longer it goes on, the American people are going to come up with the impression that this is the gang that can't lead and shoot straight.
And I think they need to show that they can lead.
I'm actually confident it'll happen by the end of the week.
So I'm not alarmed.
I don't hit this panic, you know, public political posturing that so many other Republicans, conservatives do.
I still prefer Jim Jordan as Speaker.
I think he'd be a better choice.
What went on behind the scenes, you never know.
The one thing that I thought was a mistake is there was a proposal in conference that every member would agree alone in that room together that they were going to vote and stand up and take a stand so they didn't have to have 15 public votes like they did for McCarthy.
And for some reason, that was defeated.
That always tells me that there's some group of people with probably intentions that are not in the best interest of the conference.
When you have a small majority, whether you like it or not, you got to get along.
They're either going to be successful together or they will fail together.
They won't be.
Well, some of us are successful and the rest of us aren't.
That's not how it's going to fly.
Anyway, so we're watching and waiting and seeing what happens in terms of whether the Republicans will actually get a vote in today at all.
But we don't really know as of this time.
Anyway, we'll get an update from Chad when he's available.
He's been doing hits on the Fox News channel all day.
Let me also play for you, John Kirby, because he's trying to claim.
Now, I will tell you that my sources, I was told in no uncertain terms that the evidence of Iran's involvement, that the Biden administration is fully aware of all of it.
I have been told by a high-ranking source that would know that, in fact, they have that intelligence.
I know that Israel has the intelligence.
There is no ambiguity.
My sources tell me, multiple sources, no ambiguity that Iran has their fingerprints all over this, and that even the administration of Joe Biden has gone as far as to start begging people that they know no to please not share this publicly.
And what they're doing publicly is lying to us.
Here's John Kirby saying, well, we don't have any direct linkage towards Iran here.
Can you define what the direct link is when you guys talk about Iran not being involved, no direct link?
What is it?
Could we consider to be a direct link?
So what I'm referring to there is any evidence that we have that they were knowledgeable of and aware of these particular attacks.
Now, of course, as Jake said yesterday, you know, they were obviously have been broadly aware of Hamas's hostility to Israel and to some of the broad planning that Hamas would do.
But we haven't seen anything that tells us they knew specifically date, time, method, that they were witting to this.
We haven't seen anything that tells us they specifically cut checks to support this set of attacks or that they were involved in the training.
And obviously, this required quite a bit of training by these terrorists or that they were involved in any directing of the operation.
So again, I'll get to your, I promise I don't want you, I'm not trying to monopolize the time here, but it's not a, you know, we're not one and done here either.
We're going to continue to look at the intelligence stream and see if it leads us to a different conclusion.
All I can do is be honest with you about the conclusions we're coming to today, and we just haven't seen that.
You kind of gadget my foe, which is, is it the position of the administration that at this stage Iran was not involved?
I guess my question is, how can we know that this was in the planning for over a year and within a few short days say that Iran was not behind it?
Because that's what we think.
It's not what they think.
After a very long, extensive 10-day investigation, we still don't know who brought cocaine into the White House.
I have a couple of suspects, a couple ideas.
People that were told were there at the time.
Ooh, ooh, ooh, pick me.
You end that investigation in 10 days.
What if it was anthrax?
They just lie.
They're just flat out lying.
51 Intel officials telling us, oh, the Hunter laptop is all the earmarkings.
No, it's not real, blah, blah, blah.
Anyway, so this response by Israel is imminent.
There's no doubt of.
And 300,000 troops now at the ready for their ground invasion as Gaza has been hammered with missiles.
We have more and more horrific details emerging about Hamas terrorists and their attack on civilians and babies and young children.
You know, let me play a report from the reporter that broke the story about these young babies, 40 of them, many beheaded.
I'm talking to some of the soldiers and they say what they've witnessed as they've been walking through these different houses, these different communities.
Babies, their heads cut off.
That's what they said.
Gunned down.
Families, completely gunned down in their beds.
You can see some of these soldiers right now comforting each other.
Many of them reserves who jumped into action, leaving their own families behind as well, not knowing the sheer horror that they were about to come to.
I'm talking to some of the soldiers and they say what they've witnessed as they've been walking through these different houses, these different communities.
Babies, their heads cut off.
That's what they said.
I mean, gunned down, family.
What kind of people could do that?
Israel pounding Gaza.
During my show last night, 450 airstrikes by Israel.
450.
Fears of war with Israel grow in Lebanon after rockets exchange.
They may have to fight a two-front war here with Lebanon and Hezbollah on one side, and on the other side, they got Gaza.
You know, by the way, the Palestinian terror leader named Muhammad Dayef is his name.
I don't care if I slaughtered it, meaning the name pronunciation.
Anyway, pseudonym used by the fearsome head of the Palestinian terror group's military wing, Hamas, warning the enemy that they will soon be held to account.
Okay.
Anyway, many nickname him.
Apparently, he has one arm, one leg, nicknamed the cat with nine lives because he's dodged so many Israeli assassination attempts.
And anyway, he says that the enemy will soon be held to account as Hamas launches this attack.
I'll tell you how this is going to end.
Israel is going to win.
Gaza is going to be destroyed.
And, you know, the question is, will people in Gaza, innocent civilians, they are being warned as we speak, if you stay, you will die.
That is the warning.
I don't know many other countries that care about humanity enough to warn people to get out before a major attack that they are going to be engaged in.
But they did it.
They put a value on human life.
And will the media mob and the U.N. be condemning Israel for defending it?
Of course they will.
This is why the U.N. is, you know, historically, you know, been virulently anti-Semitic and anti-American.
Why we pay for it, why we allow the traffic in New York City, I have no idea because it makes no sense.
Israeli's defense minister has now removed every restriction for the IDF to prepare for their ground assault.
It is going to be a real war.
In other words, there are no rules in war.
There shouldn't be rules in war.
You've got to defeat the enemy, and you've got to win the war.
That's how you win the war.
And, you know, it's really that simple.
What's up?
I didn't hear what you said.
Oh, by the way, yeah.
Floyd Mayweather.
How cool of him.
Sent an airplane.
Since one positive.
Floyd Mayweather sent a plane load of, I guess, stuff that the Israelis need.
He sent his private jet.
His private jet.
Sent it over to Israel to offer supplies to the people of these attacks, the victims of the attacks that these imbeciles on our prestigious college campuses can't seem to have the moral clarity to come up with and understand.
By the way, you know, let me point out a couple other things.
Iran has made $80 billion in illicit oil sales since Joe Biden took office.
Gaza hostages may be hidden in secret tunnels.
Canadian news anchors, by the way, they are being warned not to refer to Hamas baby butchers as terrorists.
Wow, that's the free flow of information out of Canada.
Great job, little Justin.
U.S. Special Ops Forces on standby for a possible hostage rescue operation.
Having been there, I got to be honest, I don't know how.
He's there now?
Well, we don't.
Biden was warned that spending hundreds of millions of dollars and sending it to the Palestinians would boost Hamas.
Why did we give them money?
Where did they think the money would go?
We already know American money was used to build the tunnels that I showed you when I was there.
Chad Pergram is Hitchhiker's Guide to All Things Washington, D.C. with a report on this battle for the new speaker in the Republican Party in the House of Representatives.
Chad, I know you've been busy all day.
I've been watching on Fox.
Thanks for spending time with us.
Thanks, Sean.
Thanks for having me.
We don't know if there will be a vote for a speaker tonight in the House of Representatives.
It's very possible.
The House Republican Conference has nominated Steve Scalise, the majority leader, as their nominee, the vote in the conference, and that's a lower bar in the conference, 113 to 99.
But he has to get an outright majority of all House members, and that includes Democrats as well, of all House members on the House floor.
I talked to Victoria Sparks earlier.
She is a Republican from Indiana.
She voted present in the conference.
She said she doesn't know how she'll vote.
You've had some others who have indicated that they're kind of up in the air.
But here's what's happened in the past hour.
Jim Jordan, who is running against Steve Scalise, the Republican from Ohio, he has met with Jim Jordan, with Steve Scalise, and he has said that he would put his support behind Scalise because this is a time for unity.
And he is asking his supporters to go over to support Scalise on the floor.
Now, again, do they go to the floor if they're not sure that they have the votes?
We'll see.
We'll see.
That's just up in the air.
What is the magic number today based on who's there?
Because I also believe, what, eight voted present?
Yes.
And you see, so that draws down the number as well, number one.
Number two, what happens is that you then start to have people who are absent.
For instance, Corey Mills, we believe, is out, Republican from Florida.
You don't know how many Democrats might be out.
And so that magic number, Sean, this is where I always compare it to an algebraic equation.
You don't know the magic number until you see how many people have voted for somebody by name on the floor.
You know, if the full House is 433 and all 433 are there, because there's two vacancies right now, 217.
But because, you know, you usually come in, you know, probably 429, 430, somewhere like that, maybe the magic number, again, if everybody votes for somebody by name, it's 216.
If five people vote, you know, present, so then you're down to, you see, this is the algebra.
425, you need, you know, 213.
You see, you don't know till you conduct the vote.
There is no magic number.
Well, let me ask you about this.
My understanding is in conference, there was a rule proposed saying that they would decide in conference that everybody would stand and everybody would be counted before they brought this to the House floor.
And that rule was voted down.
Is that true?
Yeah, well, the rule that they voted, they tabled this proposal to get something out of conference that would say, okay, we need to have at least 217 in conference.
A lot of people thought that that was designed to help Jim Jordan.
Well, how would that support Jim Jordan over Steve Scalise when Steve was 113 to 99?
Well, because it was thought that that kind of undercut Jordan a little bit there, that if the idea they were changing the rules, that Scalise always had more votes was what I was told.
And so the idea that if you're going to make it a further reach, you see what would have happened, had that been the goal right there, Sean, Steve Scalise would not be the official Republican nominee for speaker right now because he was a far cry from getting anywhere close to 217.
Let me ask you, is this a public vote or is it anonymous?
It's an anonymous vote.
They had people check their phones at the doors.
There were some members who said, you know, we Republicans, we preach a lot about transparency and everything else.
And then when it comes to this stuff, we do it on the down though.
Some people saw a problem with that, Frank.
Well, I'm one of them.
All right.
Let's walk through the varying possibilities and maybe timelines, although I'm sure it's difficult for you to predict.
You know, what could we possibly see today?
There was talk that maybe that first vote would take place at 3 p.m.
Obviously, that's been put off.
I did notice that Chip Roy had tweeted out comments that I think got a lot of people's attention.
He said, I will not be voting for Steve Scalise on the floor this afternoon.
The House GOP should not have called the vote at 3 p.m. after finishing the vote at 1.30 in conference.
This is unacceptable and purposeful.
Meaning what?
Well, that means, you know, that does he vote present?
Does he vote at all?
Does he vote for Jim Jordan or somebody else?
You see, that's where you don't know whether or not Scalise has the votes on the floor.
And maybe they have to go to another version of what happened in January.
They might not vote 15 rounds over five days, but take a couple of votes to see where people stand and kind of get to understand what the universe of votes looks like.
That's very unclear right now.
And that would all be public, though, right?
They will vote on the floor.
What happens when you vote for Speaker?
They do a manual roll call.
In other words, they call your name in alphabetical order and you stand and you announce Jordan or Scalise or Jeffries or Trump.
We've told some people who supported President Trump for this.
You can vote for anybody.
And often there are people who at least one or two, most speaker elections that vote for somebody who is not a member of the House or somebody who is not a member.
What about, well, I guess it's too early to tell.
Are you pretty confident there'll be some vote today?
No.
I talked to a speaker.
By the way, thanks for a really straightforward and honest answer, Chad.
Yeah, yeah, because nobody really knows.
We've never been to this era.
It's very rare that you have a mid-Congress speaker election.
You know, it was pretty clear when John Boehner went away in the fall of 2015 that there was a coronation of Paul Ryan, that he was going to win on the floor no matter what.
That was the deal.
He was the only guy running on the Republican side, and they had the majority.
So this is a little bit of a dicier proposition.
And it might not.
Real quick.
Yeah.
So it's kind of like if Scalise thinks he has the votes, you go to the floor.
They'll go to the floor then.
Anyway, great reporting.
Chad Pergram.
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