Ohio Representative Jim Jordan said his first move as Speaker of the House if elected would be providing aid to the state of Israel.
Jordan’s remarks follow Saturday’s attacks by Islamist militant group Hamas on Israel.
During a Sunday appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, host Maria Bartiromo asked the prospective Speaker what his first move would be, to which Jordan said he would help Israel.
“There will be some resolution on the floor to support the state of Israel,” Jordan said.
The prospective Speaker also echoed Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton’s sentiment saying the United States needed to give Israel the “time, the space, [and] resources so that they can win and win decisively.”
“There is a special bond between the state of Israel and the American people,” Jordan said.
Jordan said there would be consultations between House Foreign Affairs and the Senate.
“We will work with the State Department and the White House,” Jordan continued. “But that is something that I think gets bipartisan, bicameral, full support from the United States government, because, again, this is our great friend and great ally, the state of Israel.”
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) October 8, 2023
Last week, Jordan announced his bid for Speakership along with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise after California Representative Kevin McCarthy was removed from the office of Speaker of the House. McCarthy is the first Speaker to be removed from the seat in United States History.
On Wednesday, the Ohio representative said he wouldn’t support future aid packages for Ukraine when asked by reporters.
“I’m against that,” Jordan said. “What I understand is at some point we’re going to have to deal with this appropriation process in the right way.”
"I'm against that," Jim Jordan, a candidate for speaker, says of an aid package for Ukraine, going further than McCarthy.
"The most pressing issue on Americans' mind is not Ukraine — it is the border situation, it's crime on streets."
Said he would see what Senate sends to House pic.twitter.com/qpOrNZoyIc— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 4, 2023
The Ohio representative said House Republicans needed to come to an agreement in the next 41 days before the government runs out of funds.
“The most pressing issue on American’s mind is not Ukraine,” he continued. “It is the border situation, and it is crime on the streets.”
Jordan reiterated his stance on a Thursday morning appearance on Fox News.
Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy noted some House Republicans might “tank” a prospective Speaker’s bid for the seat if they supported aid for Ukraine.
“Why should we be sending American tax dollars to Ukraine when we don’t even know what the goal is?” Jordan said. “No one can tell me what the objective is.”
“Is it some kind of negotiated peace? Is it drive [Russians] out of eastern Ukraine?” he continued. “Is it drive [Russians] out of Crimea, which they’ve had for 10 years now when they took [it] during the Obama administration. What is the objective?”
“Until you can tell me the goal, I don’t think we should continue to send money there particularly when we have the problems we have on our border,” he said.
Jordan also expressed concern over how funds already provided to Ukraine have been spent.
“Those are two fundamental questions that I think the American taxpayers want to know the answers to before they send any more of their hard-earned money there,” he added.
