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Who is Mariannette Miller-Meeks? House Republican gets 'credible death threats' after voting against Jim Jordan for Speaker

Rep Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa received death threats after voting against Jim Jordan in the second ballot for Speaker of the House

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: GOP Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks claims she received death threats and threatening phone calls after voting against Jim Jordan of Ohio for House Speaker post.

In an official statement released on October 18, Miller-Meeks said she received "credible death threats" after voting against Jordan.

Where is Mariannette Miller-Meeks from?

Miller-Meeks is a Republican House Representative from Iowa.

From 2018, she was a senator in the Iowa State Senate. She resigned from the post on January 2, 2021, to join the United States House of Representatives.

She is a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. She sits on the Subcommittee on Health and the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals.

Miller-Meeks also serves as a House Committee on Veterans' Affairs member, where she is the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Health.

'Received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls,' said Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan on the first ballot on October 17. However, on the second vote on October 18, the Iowa congresswoman withdrew her support for the hardline conservative candidate.

In the second round, she voted for Rep Kay Granger, chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

According to Miller-Meeks, she voted for Rep Granger "because she has demonstrated great leadership this year." 

Hours after her announcement, she released an official statement about the death threats.

In the statement, the congresswoman said she voted for Jordan in the first round "for the greater good of the House Republican party."

However, since he failed to get enough votes in the first round for speaker nomination, her "initial concerns about threatening tactics of Jim Jordan's supporters" have increased.

"One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully," said Miller-Meeks.

She harshly criticized the people threatening her, saying such people trying to "suppress differing opinions undermines opportunity for unity and regard for freedom of speech."

"I understand that voting against Rep Jordan is not popular at this time. I respected Jim enough to vote for him, knowing he did not have the votes to be elected. We have had numerous calls to all our offices, and many have urged that I support Jim Jordan and many others urged me to look for a conservative consensus candidate," her statement continued.

Emphasizing the need for a strong speaker candidate, she added, "Our party needs a consensus candidate so we can get back to the work forwarding appropriations, supporting Israel, and stopping the insane policies of the Biden Administration."

Jim Jordan fails in second House Speaker vote

Although most of the GOP nominated Jordan for the House speaker race, more voters from his party opposed him on the second ballot.

He, so far, has been unsuccessful in getting the 217 Republican votes in the two Houses.

A third round of votes is expected to take place on October 19. Many lawmakers have criticized Jordan for his supporters' bullying and aggressive campaign strategies.

Several GOP lawmakers and a spouse of one reported about the barrage of calls they received asking them to support Jordan.

The wife of Republican lawmaker Rep Don Bacon received anonymous threatening messages ahead of the first round of voting asking her to persuade her husband to vote for Jordan.

Jordan supporters also called the staff of Rep Steve Womack and "cussed out" them.

Irrespective of Miller-Meeks' opposition, Jordan took to X to support the congresswoman and condemn the death threats.

"No American should accost another for their beliefs. We condemn all threats against our colleagues and it is imperative that we come together. Stop. It's abhorrent," he wrote on X.