U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson Receives Death Threats For House Speaker Vote

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-GA 3rd District, says he and his family have received death threats after he changed his mind about voting for fellow U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan to become the next House speaker.

Ferguson said Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, that though he chose to vote for Jordan on the first ballot, he could not vote for his colleague a second time due to Jordan's "threatening tactics and pressure campaigns."

"I discussed this directly with Jim , and I planned to support him on the second ballot. When the pressure campaigns and attacks on fellow members ramped up, it became clear to me that the House Republican Conference does not need a bully as the Speaker," Ferguson said in the post.

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He opted to vote for Majority Leader Steve Scalise to fill the vacant seat, calling Scalise "a principled conservative and unifying leader."

Ferguson said after voting for Scalise, he and his family began receiving death threats.

"That is simply unacceptable, unforgivable and will never be tolerated," he said.

The U.S. House convened Wednesday to vote on a new Speaker of the House after U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy was historically ousted earlier this month for relying "on Democratic votes to help pass a bill to avoid a partial government shutdown," Reuters reported on Oct. 4. He became the first U.S. House Speaker to be removed from the role.

The Georgia Recorder reported that Jordan would not pursue a third vote for speaker, citing the lack of support he has gotten.