U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet

By The Alpena News

and The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, who represents Northeast Michigan in Congress, is “prepared to step up” and run for U.S. House speaker if the current nominee fails to secure enough votes, Bergman’s office confirmed on Wednesday.

It seemed increasingly likely U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republicans’ current speaker nominee, would fail to secure the job after he lost support in a second round of voting on Wednesday morning.

The House has been without a speaker — and therefore unable to legislate — for 15 days, following the historic ouster of former speaker Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 3.

After the Wednesday vote, Bergman “was approached by colleagues and has had conversations about a possible Speaker run,” James Hogge, Bergman’s communications director, said in an email to The News.

“We cannot go another day without a Speaker,” Hogge said. “If as a conference we see (Jordan) can’t get the necessary votes to become Speaker, General Bergman is prepared to step up.”

Bergman, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general, would only seek the leadership position for the current congressional term, Hogge said, because Bergman “isn’t seeking to climb the ladder, only steady it in a time of chaos.”

Twenty Republicans voted against Jordan, a conservative from Ohio and ally of former President Donald Trump, in the first round of voting on Tuesday. Twenty-two voted against him in the second round on Wednesday.

With Democrats united behind their own choice for speaker, Jordan can only lose four Republicans.

“We’ll keep talking to members, keep working on it,” Jordan, a founding member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, said after the vote, vowing to stay in the race.

Bergman voted for Jordan in both rounds of voting.

A Republican from Watersmeet in the western Upper Peninsula, Bergman represents the geographically massive 1st Congressional District that covers all of the U.P. and all of the northern Lower Peninsula, including Northeast Michigan.

He retired from the Marine Corps as a lieutenant general after 40 years in the service and also started two medical equipment businesses.

He has served in the U.S. House since 2017 and currently serves on the Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees.

“Our Nation is in turmoil,” Hogge, the Bergman spokesman, wrote to The News on Wednesday. “Our Southern Border is a total crisis, we are 30 days away from a government shutdown, the Biden Administration is running roughshod over our fundamental rights, Israel is under attack by evil Hamas terrorists, and at this very moment — The People’s House is in total gridlock.”

Bergman “knows how to put others first to accomplish the task at hand,” Hogge added. “America needs a leader right now — Rep. Jack Bergman is ready to answer the call of service, again.”

On Oct. 3, a small group of hard-right Republicans forced a vote to oust McCarthy, a Republican from California, over McCarthy’s decision to work with Democrats last month on a short-term funding plan to avoid a government shutdown. Those Republicans said McCarthy had broken many promises made to the GOP conference.

The House had never before ousted a speaker.

U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, briefly was the Republicans’ nominee for speaker, but he dropped out when it became obvious he couldn’t get enough votes to secure the gavel.

Jordan then stepped up.

Following the Wednesday vote in which Jordan failed to secure enough votes, next steps were highly uncertain as angry, frustrated Republicans looked at other options. A bipartisan group of lawmakers floated a plan to give the interim speaker-pro-tempore, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, more power to reopen the immobilized House and temporarily conduct routine business.