Nashville’s three U.S. representatives are struggling to unite on a path forward for their Republican majority amid ongoing chaos in the party.
Rep. Mark Green — formerly an ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was deposed on Tuesday — has come out in favor of Ohio's Rep. Jim Jordan, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus who has emerged as a leader of the party’s far-right wing.
“Jim Jordan is the fighter we need," a Green aide tells the Scene via text. "I’m honored to support him to be our next Speaker of the House."
Along with Jordan, Louisiana Republican Steve Scalise, who has served as McCarthy’s second-in-command, has announced a bid for speaker.
Rep. John Rose, another of Nashville’s representatives, chided his party for failing to hold on to the speakership in a press release after Tuesday’s vote to oust McCarthy. Rose is undecided as to who he will support to lead the party in the House.
“Congressman Rose is looking forward to hearing all of the candidates speak at the candidate forum next week,” a spokesperson for Rep. Rose tells the Scene in a statement. “At this point in time, he is keeping his options open as he considers who best reflects the values of Tennessee’s 6th District and is prepared to lead the House of Representatives.”
Far-right Nashville Rep. Andy Ogles joins East Tennessee’s Tim Burchett to send the country toward a federal shutdown
Rep. Andy Ogles — the embattled freshman representative who beat out more moderate Republicans to win Tennessee’s redrawn 5th District — tweeted his support for Jim Jordan to be the next speaker of the House. In his short tenure in Congress, Ogles has demonstrated an ongoing alliance with Jordan and an obvious desire for clout among the party’s extreme right. In January, Ogles helped push the vote to install McCarthy to 15 rounds of voting in an embarrassing display of party disarray. Last week, Ogles held out again, forcing Congress to the brink of a government shutdown led by embattled Florida Republican Matt Gaetz, another close ally.
In the 2022 midterms, Republicans won a narrow governing majority in the House and lost ground in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Their governing majority sought to unite far-right members in deep-red districts with centrist Republicans in states like New York and Washington, who represent districts won by Joe Biden in 2020. Reps. Green, Ogles and Rose each won districts with a slice of Davidson County, which was formerly a single Democratic district represented by Jim Cooper before being cracked into three seats by the state legislature.
The GOP’s prolonged intra-party fight to elect a speaker in January was the first ominous sign for Republicans, who have now lost governing control of the only chamber where they hold a majority.
This story has been updated to reflect a tweet from Rep. Ogles.
