Anti-Jordan Republicans Reportedly Used His Own Meeting to Try to Get Him to Drop Speaker Bid: ‘Who Is Whipping Who?’

A meeting called by Jim Jordan (R-OH) to lobby Republican opponents to his potential speakership was actually “a meeting for them to try to change Jordan’s mind and get him to drop out,” NBC News reported on Thursday night.

On Thursday’s All In, Chris Hayes brought viewers up to speed on the ongoing mess being made because Republicans have been unable to agree on which one of them will be elevated to the speakership. The GOP conference nominated Jordan, who came up short in two votes this week. A third vote was canceled when it became clear he still did not have enough support.

Hayes welcomed NBC News congressional correspondent Ali Vitali to discuss the meeting, which went so poorly, that he did not convince a single opponent to vote for him. More than that, she reported that the opposition viewed the meeting as an opportunity to get Jordan to withdraw his bid.

“It’s like a cliffhanger every 24 hours and a lot happens, but in the end, we end up in the same place,” he said, laughing. “So how did today unfold?”

“Now, the explanations of that meeting start to fall apart, depending on who you talk to,” she said. “For Jordan, it was a chance to speak to his detractors, see if it was a chance to get them on board. For the members leaving that meeting, though, some of them told our team in the hallway that this wasn’t a meeting for Jordan to try to change their minds. This was a meeting for them to try to change Jordan’s mind and get him to drop out.”

Hayes replied, “Yeah, ‘Who is whipping who?’ one might ask.”

Watch above via MSNBC.