Iowa’s first district congresswoman is firing back at those who’ve criticized two of her votes for House Speaker.
Republican Congresswoman Miller-Meeks supported Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan on the first round of voting on the House floor last week, but not during the other two rounds and she has reported receiving death threats.
“I am never going to quit fighting for Iowa and I am never going to quit fighting for this country and if you think you can intimidate me…suck it up, buttercup,” Miller-Meeks said, to applause on Friday night from the crowd at her campaign fundraiser in Coralville.
Miller-Meeks did not mention Jordan by name, but she referred to what she had described in a statement last week as a pressure campaign Jordan allies waged against her. “I am not a Democrat. I am a proud Republican. If anybody thinks that I’m going to give up and I’m going to lay back…they’ve got another thing coming,” Miller-Meeks said.
After the event, Miller-Meeks told reporters she’s confident House Republicans will come together and elect a speaker. “Most of us are there to govern, to legislate, to pass bills. We’ve got important appropriations bills to pass,” Miller-Meek said. “The important thing about those bills is not the level of spending, it’s also the policy priorities.”
Iowa Democratic Party chair Rita Hart, who lost to Miller-Meeks in 2018 by six votes, said Miller-Meeks should have stayed in D.C. to elect a speaker rather than host a party in Iowa Friday night.
Seven GOP presidential candidates attended and spoke at the Miller-Meeks fundraiser.