Republican lawmakers say they have been targeted by intimidation tactics, including death threats, from allies of Jim Jordan as his bid for the US House of Representatives speakership falters.
Several Republicans told reporters they had been subjected to a pressure campaign by supporters of Jordan, who lost a second vote for the gavel on Wednesday.
Jordan, a right-wing Republican from Ohio, has condemned the threats.
A hardline conservative revolt ousted the last Speaker on 3 October.
A third vote to elect a Speaker may happen on Thursday, and Jordan will need to win around more colleagues in his party to secure the 217 votes needed to win the job.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an Iowa Republican, wrote in a statement on Wednesday that she had “received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls” after voting for an alternative to Jordan.
