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Fox News host Brian Kilmeade appeared to call Republican Representative Don Bacon a "dumba**" after he voted against GOP Representative Jim Jordan for speaker of the House.
Bacon cast his vote for Representative Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker who was ousted in an unprecedented motion to vacate earlier this month, becoming one of several Republicans on Tuesday to reject Jordan, the GOP nominee for speaker.
Seconds after Bacon was heard saying "McCarthy" on the House floor when asked for his vote, a seemingly frustrated Kilmeade could be heard uttering the word "dumba**" on the Fox News broadcast, possibly unaware that he was still on air.
"I will forgive him," Bacon told Newsweek when asked about Kilmeade's remark. "I voted on principle and what I think is right for our country. I heard a lot worse in three decades in the Air Force."
Newsweek reached out for comment to Fox News via email on Tuesday.
Jordan, a hard-right loyalist to former President Donald Trump, lost on the first ballot, mustering only 200 votes. A recess was called immediately afterward. Every Democratic member voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, giving him a total of 212 votes.
McCarthy and others had a combined total of 20 votes from Republican holdouts, including Bacon. McCarthy was elected to the role in January after a record 15 rounds of voting. At least 217 votes were required to successfully elect a speaker on Tuesday.
Assuming no defections from Democrats, Republicans can only afford to lose five votes for any speaker candidate due to the party maintaining control of the House by a thin 221-212 margin.
Jordan is the second Republican to be nominated for speaker by his conference after the ousting of McCarthy, following Representative Steve Scalise, the current House majority leader.
Scalise was nominated last week but withdrew his candidacy after several hard-right members made it clear that they would not be supporting him and instead favored Jordan, who was endorsed by Trump.
Jordan, nominated on Friday, lost on his first attempt despite reportedly mounting a pressure campaign that had attempted to win over the GOP holdouts until shortly before the vote took place. Bacon and others appeared less than pleased with strong-arm tactics.
Bacon on Monday announced that he would be voting for McCarthy, telling reporters that "a small group" of Republicans were responsible for the House chaos due to ousting McCarthy and blocking Scalise from the speakership.
"We've had a minority of the majority dictate all of this, and it's unacceptable," said Bacon. "A small group broke our rules ... Now they want us to follow the rules and support Jim."
McCarthy, who declined to run for the speakership again after eight Republicans joined with Democrats to remove him, on Friday expressed confidence that Jordan would be his replacement, telling CNN's Manu Raju that he did not "see a problem with him not getting there."
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more