GOP antics could cause 'mass staff exodus' of House workers: reporters

Multiple congressional reporters warned on Thursday that the ongoing chaos in the House Republican conference could soon drive a wave of resignations among congressional staff.

This comes as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who previously was on the verge of at least temporarily bowing out of the speaker race after losing two ballots, said that he's going to try for a new vote over the weekend.

"From a GOP staffer in response to the news of weekend votes… 'I see a mass staff exodus from the House if this doesn’t resolve soon. Staff have lives and families too,'" Punchbowl News' Mica Soellner posted on X. Another GOP aide reportedly reacted in fury to this, telling her, “Nobody would even notice if you exited politics... Stop whining about having to do your job. Imagine having a front row seat to history and complaining you didn’t get to go apple picking this weekend.”

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NBC News' Ali Vitali, however, confirmed the threat of an exodus is real.

"This is actually a real concern that I’ve heard from sources recently and would be so bad for the institution," she posted to the same platform. "For people who come here to work on policy and make change, this isn’t what they signed up for."

Republicans and some Democrats have been toying for days with the idea of putting the speaker vote on hold and empowering Speaker Pro Tem Patrick McHenry (R-NC) to conduct House business for at least a few months.

However, Jordan went back on this following backlash from his allies and supporters, and quickly went back to trying to whip votes in his favor, although as of the last whip count, 22 Republicans voted against him, and some expect that number to grow on a third ballot. The situation has deteriorated rapidly, with Republicans shouting at each other behind closed doors and Jordan supporters sending death threats and harassment to members who voted against him.