ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Last week, when asked by Politico, U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner (R) called Rep. Jim Jordan (R) "disgraceful" and "ungracious," and that she would "absolutely not" vote for Jordan for his bid for Speaker of the House.
A week later, Wagner has changed her tune, announcing on X, formerly known as Twitter, she will support Jordan's bid for Speaker of the House.
"Throughout my time in Congress, I have always been a team player and supported our Republican nominees out of Conference," Wagner said in a statement on X, "Jim Jordan is our conference nominee, and I will support his nomination for Speaker on the House floor."
Lindenwood University political science professor Don Heidenreich tells KMOX that Wagner is on some powerful committees and probably doesn't want to run afoul of the next Speaker and her Republican colleagues.
"I think that has more to do be on the Outs with the Speaker," said Heidenreich, "Committee assignments, bills, there's a lot of things the Speaker can do. (Wagner) may very well go 'Yeah he may very well win, and if he does win, I don't want to be on the wrong side here."
Wagner previously was a longtime ally of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who last week announced his bid for Speaker of the House, however, Scalise would later drop his bid days later.
Jordan is set to bring the House of Representatives back to the floor Tuesday to vote on whether he will succeed ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.
However, Jordan appears to still be short of achieving votes to win the role, as six to nine Republicans either reportedly said they were opposed to Jordan, or were leaning against him.
