Rules Committee meeting gets heated when Rep. Perlmutter asks Rep. Jordan if Biden is now president-elect
House Rules Committee debates 25th Amendment
The tension was high Tuesday afternoon when the House Rules Committee met to debate a resolution calling for Vice President Mike Pence to convene the cabinet and invoke the 25th Amendment to remove President Trump from office before his term ends next week.
Early in the hearing, Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Col., asked Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to say publicly that President-elect Joe Biden won the election. Jordan had no problem saying that, but he took issue with being asked to do so in the first place.
"I would just say, sort of from one lawyer to another, Mr. Jordan, in a cross-examine sort of way, isn't it true that Joe Biden won the election?" Perlmutter pressed.
"Yes, he's going to be president, and I've never said, as the chairman indicated earlier, I've never said that this election was stolen," Jordan replied. "What I've said very clearly is half the electorate — half the electorate, both Republicans and Democrats, have concerns."
Perlmutter interjected, yelling out, "Jim! Mr. Jordan!" until the Ohio Republican stopped.
"It was a simple question," Perlmutter said. "Isn’t it true Joe Biden won the election, yes or no?"
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"Yes, he won. How many times do I have to say it?" Jordan responded. "Yes, he won, but there are serious problems with this election that deserve an investigation, and that's what I've called for. And it's not just Republicans who think that. Countless number of Democrats think that this thing had problems too. We called for an investigation and you guys didn’t want to do it. No investigation."
"Mr. Jordan," Perlmutter interrupted.
"Well, you asked me a question, I got to give an answer," Jordan said.
"I asked you a yes or no question. Please, we’re trying to bring this nation back together. Jim, jeez!"
Perlmutter said he does not like the House resolution calling for Pence and the cabinet to use the 25th Amendment, but he said he supports it because of the "injury" that the nation has suffered. Right now, he said, he wants a leader like Jordan to say Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris won the election and will be taking office.
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"You know who said that? The president of the United States has said that," Jordan responded.
Tempers eventually died down, and both congressmen agreed to work together during the transition period to condemn violence and unite the country.
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