Kay Granger, ‘creamed online by MAGA’ for opposing Jim Jordan, defends her speaker vote

U.S. Rep Kay Granger of Fort Worth is defending her vote against Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House and responding to the backlash from supporters of the hard-right Republican from Ohio.

Granger, the chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, wrote in a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday that “intimidation and threats will not change my position.” She said she voted her “conscience” for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to serve as speaker, calling him an “honorable man.”

Her tweet had nearly 600,000 views and more than 6,000 comments within a few hours.

Jordan lost a second House vote on Wednesday with only 199 of the 217 votes needed to win the speakership. Jordan secured 200 votes in the first round Tuesday.

Granger, a former mayor of Fort Worth, was one of three lawmakers from Texas who voted against Jordan in favor of other Republicans. The others were Rep. Jake Ellzey of Midlothian and Tony Gonzales of San Antonio.

Ellzey voted for California Republican Rep. Mike Garcia and Gonzalez voted for Scalise on Wednesday’s race. Ellzey serves Texas’ 6th congressional district, which includes Ellis, Navarro, and Tarrant counties.

One lawmaker voted for Granger for speaker on Wednesday — Iowa Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks — but she is not actually considered in the running.

Many of the comments on Granger’s post on X were harshly critical, some calling her a RINO or “Republican in name only” and predicting she will have formidable competition from more conservative candidates in the 2024 Republican primary

A user responded with, “Not sure who taught you to do this job but your constituents asking you to respect their wishes and for once represent them is not intimidation and threats. It’s your job.”

Another user wrote: “We are telling you what we want. You are supposed to vote based on what we want. You are supposed to represent us. Not your special interest donors. And it’s not a threat. If you don’t vote how we want, you’re gone.”

Other users also criticized Granger’s post, mentioning Scalise’s withdrawal from the House Speaker race Thursday.

One comment thanked Granger, saying she was “getting creamed online by MAGA.”

“So many of them say that she should have voted the way the voters wanted her to vote and not her conscience! MAGA has no conscience! She does! THANK YOU REP GRANGER!”

Jordan, from Ohio, co-founded the House Freedom Caucus in 2015 and is an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump. He defended Trump during both impeachment hearings and was part of promoting the conspiracy that the 2020 election was stolen.

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