California Republicans start backing ‘fearless’ Jim Jordan for House Speaker amid GOP chaos

Lindsey Holden
Paul Kitagaki Jr./pkitagaki@sacbee.com

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS BACK JORDAN SPEAKERSHIP

Via David Lightman...

A handful of California Republicans are publicly backing Rep. Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House — and a Sacramento-area congressman is especially enthusiastic.

Rep. Kevin Kiley cheered the prospect of a Jordan speakership on Monday.

“Like few others in public life, he has his finger on the pulse of the threats to our liberties and First Amendment freedoms.” Kiley, R-Rocklin, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“As Judiciary Chair, he’s exposed corruption and pursued accountability like no one else. Tomorrow at noon, the full House will vote to make him our Speaker.”

Maybe. It’s not clear that Jordan, R-Ohio, has the 217 House votes needed to become speaker after Bakersfield Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ouster. He got the support of 152 House Republicans last week, but 55 voted no.

Kiley is a fan. He said that when the House nominated Jordan last week, he thought back to the night he won his House seat in November.

Kiley went on Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show. “As soon as the interview ended, I got a call from Ohio. It was Jim Jordan. He said he saw me on Fox and wanted me to join the Judiciary Committee,” said Kiley.

“Since that day, I’ve worked closely with Jim and seen the kind of leader he is. He is exceptionally fearless, hard-working, and team-spirited. He has a unique ability to focus on a mission, pursue it strategically and relentlessly, and rally people to the cause.”

A group of other California Republicans have also publicly stated their support for Jordan. Reps. Tom McClintock, Ken Calvert and Darrell Issa announced on X they are on board.

“House Republicans have suffered a total breakdown of party discipline,” said McClintock of Elk Grove. “A majority party is only a majority party when it votes as a majority. McCarthy should never have been ousted, but now Jim Jordan is the majority’s choice and deserves the vote of every Republican.”

BUTLER’S WILL SHE, WON’T SHE GAME CONTINUES

Via Maggie Angst...

Those hoping for clarity about whether California’s new senator will run for a full term in office will likely have to wait at least another week.

Over the weekend, Sen. Laphonza Butler announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be working remotely for her second week in office.

”After a busy 1st wk on the job, I have tested positive for COVID-19 & am experiencing mild symptoms. Per CDC guidelines I will be isolating while the Senate is in session and working remotely,” the senator wrote late Sunday morning on X, formerly Twitter.

Butler, 44, is filling the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein through January 2025. She has not said yet whether she will enter the race for a full term after that. When Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Butler, he left that decision up to her.

Should she choose to vie for the full six-year term, Butler, a former labor leader, could get substantial fundraising support from some of California’s most powerful unions.

While some organizations have already endorsed a candidate, the state’s largest unions, including the Service Employees International Union and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have not made a call yet.

CALIFORNIA TAX DEADLINE EXTENDED AGAIN

California is still waiting for billions of dollars in tax receipts after the IRS once again extended its filing deadline.

The federal agency on Monday announced Golden State residents in 55 counties now have until Nov. 16 to file their taxes — a one-month extension for people affected by severe winter storms.

Those residents previously had until Oct. 16 to submit their taxes. Newsom and state lawmakers approved a budget contingent on at least $42 billion in tax payments expected this month.

Assembly Budget Advisor Jason Sisney estimated in a LinkedIn post that California would see roughly $44.9 billion in tax collections this month. In spite of the extension deadline, Sisney said, the Franchise Tax Bureau as of Monday had collected $7.7 billion in October.

“California’s state cash resources remain ample and can handle any added delay to November,” Sisney said in a Substack post.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Welcome to the.... fun?”

- Newsom on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to President Joe Biden’s campaign joining Truth Social. The governor joined former President Donald Trump’s social media platform in June 2022.

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