Rep. Ken Buck Votes Against Jim Jordan Over ‘His Involvement With January 6,’ Opposition To Unlimited Ukraine Aid

U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) was one of 20 House Republicans who voted against House Judiciary Committee Cahir Jim Jordan (R-OH) during the first House Speaker ballot on Monday. Buck — a frequent guest on CNN — has told left-wing media outlets that Jordan’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election and “involvement” in the January 6 Capitol protests are major reasons for his “no” vote.

“You’re a very conservative Republican. It’s very important to you that whoever is the next speaker of the House acknowledge the fact that Joe Biden won the presidency. It’s just a fact that he did, and you want the next speaker to acknowledge that?” CNN host Jake Tapper asked Buck shortly after Tuesday’s vote.

“I want the next speaker to acknowledge that. I also want to make sure that we don’t have somebody who was involved in the activities surrounding January 6th,” Buck replied. “And I think if we have a presidential candidate who, right now is leading, who denies that he lost the election and was obviously behind what happened on January 6th. And we have a speaker in a similar situation… We have 20 Republicans sitting in Joe Biden districts right now, districts that Joe Biden won in 2020, and those 20 Republicans are going to be at risk,” he continued, taking a shot at former President Donald Trump.

“There’s no way we win the majority if the message we send to the American people is that we believe that the election was stolen and we believe that January 6th was okay,” Buck added.

Buck has also stated that Jim Jordan’s opposition to another aid bill for Ukraine is another sticking point. Buck told CNN that Jordan wants the Biden Administration to present a plan and allow for the appointment of an inspector general to monitor the funds. “I have asked Jim to make a public, unequivocal statement that the aid package will go to the floor,” Buck told CNN’s Laura Coates on Wednesday.

In response to his vote against Jordan and ongoing media tour, Buck has received a formal primary challenge from Navy veteran Trent Leisy. “My RINO primary opponent, Ken Buck, is refusing to vote for Jim Jordan for House Speaker unless he turns on Rightful President Trump. If I was your Congressman, I would vote for Jim Jordan for Speaker in a heartbeat!” Leisy wrote in an X post on Monday. “We need more America First fighters in Congress!”

Colorado State Rep. Richard Holtorf is also mulling a potential bid against the congressman. Buck’s district is rated as R+13 by the Cook Partisan Voting Index.