Don Bacon explains why he voted against Jordan as speaker

Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon joined 21 other House Republicans Wednesday in not voting for Jim Jordan as Speaker of the House.

Instead, Bacon voted for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by eight Republicans earlier this month.

“He was really the best speaker we could have had,” Bacon said of McCarthy. “He had the experience, the staff. He's the reason we're the majority today.”

Bacon said Jim Jordan has done a good job as chair of the judiciary committee and has come a long way from when he was first elected.

But Bacon said he refuses to vote for Jordan because he takes issue with the process by which Jordan was nominated for speaker.

“The fact is the eight people that did this three weeks ago, they were wrong for what they did to our country, to the House, to their own party,” Bacon said. “Hopefully the voters there will hold them responsible.”

Bacon said he and his wife have each received anonymous threats through texts and phone calls from Jim Jordan supporters because of his vote.

Bacon called upon Jordan to address the harassment.

“Mr. Jordan needs to make clear that this behavior is wrong,” Bacon said. “There's been a bullying campaign to corral the votes and they’re messing with the wrong people.”

Bacon said he believes the House could elect a speaker quickly if Jordan withdraws himself from the race.