Nancy Mace says she supports Jim Jordan for House speaker

Washington — Rep. Nancy Mace said Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is her pick to be the next House speaker after she was among a small contingent of Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the role last week. 

"I am going to be supporting Jim Jordan for speaker," the South Carolina Republican told "Face the Nation" on Sunday. 

• Transcript: Rep. Nancy Mace on "Face the Nation" 

She cited Jordan's "work ethic" and "his ability to just run circles around everyone with regards to policy and pushing forward." 

"We've been one of the least productive Congresses inside of 30 years and he's going to be a workhorse for our country," she said. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana is also running to replace McCarthy. It's unclear if there's enough of a consensus within a fractured Republican conference for either Scalise or Jordan to easily win the gavel. 

McCarthy's ouster was the first time in U.S. history a House speaker has been removed in a no-confidence vote after eight Republican detractors, including Mace, and all Democrats voted against him. 

"I want a speaker who will keep their word and who will get the job done," Mace said.

Since her vote to oust McCarthy, Mace said she's being "threatened" by her Republican colleagues to be removed from committees and the conference. 

"I want to use this as an opportunity to say I'm willing to work with anyone who's willing to work with me," she said. 

"Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan asked Mace, who has been outspoken about defending victims of sexual assault, whether past allegations about Jordan turning a blind eye to sexual abuse on the Ohio State wrestling team when he was coach gave her any pause. 

"I'm not familiar or aware with that," Mace said. "He's not indicted on anything that I'm aware of. I don't know anything and can't speak to that." 

Brennan also asked Mace to respond to a recent statement made by former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who played a key role on the House Jan. 6 committee, in which she warned that if Jordan is elected speaker "there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected Republicans could be counted on to defend the Constitution." 

"There's going to be all sorts of issues that we agree on and disagree on," Mace said, recalling that she denounced GOP efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. 

In:
• Kevin McCarthy

Caitlin Yilek

Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital. Reach her at caitlin.yilek@cbsinteractive.com. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hausofcait

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