As members of the United States House of Representatives continue a contentious fight to decide who will become the new Speaker of the House, northern Michigan’s representative is throwing his hat in the ring.

Jack Bergman (R), who represents Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, released a statement on Friday afternoon announcing that he is running to serve as Speaker. The announcement framed Bergman’s decision as a move to end “the protracted leadership battle in the House of Representatives that has paralyzed the body.”

“My hat is in the ring, and I feel confident I can win the votes where others could not,” Bergman said. “I have no special interests to serve; I’m only in this to do what's best for our nation and to steady the ship for the 118th Congress.”

Bergman continued by stating that “the regular functioning of the federal government can’t wait on useless infighting and arguments,” and that the House needs to choose a Speaker as soon as possible “in order to make sure that our government—and particularly our military—is funded, and that both our homeland and our critical allies are secure in this time of crisis.”

Bergman, famously, is a military veteran, having served 40 years in the United States Marine Corps before retiring at the rank of Lieutenant General. His announcement on Friday touted this experience as a point of qualification for the Speaker role, noting that Bergman is “the highest-ranking combat veteran every elected to the United States Congress.”

Bergman has held his seat in the House of Representatives since January 2017, and was re-elected to a fourth term last November.

On Tuesday, October 3, the House of Representatives voted 216-to-210 to oust previous Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-California), marking the first time in U.S. history that the House has voted to remove its leader. Eight House Republicans broke rank on that vote, joining 208 Democrats to form the narrow majority. Notably, Bergman was not one of those eight.

Two and a half weeks later, the House remains leaderless. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) had originally emerged as the frontrunner for the role, but ended his bid for Speaker on Friday after losing both a third round of voting among the full House and a “secret ballot” among GOP members that could have kept him as the party’s nominee. That twist sends the House back to the drawing board as it tries to find a new leader and get back to business as usual.

“What we need right now is a Speaker who has experience leading and can put ego aside to work together for the American people,” Bergman said of his decision to seek the gavel. “We need a leader who shuns permanent power and recognizes the current crisis of leadership. I’m ready to serve. Together we can end the deadlock, and win the vote.”

Callie Barr, a Democrat who has announced plans to challenge Bergman for his House seat in the November 2024 election, issued a statement on Wednesday as murmurs grew louder that Bergman might make a bid for House Speaker. That statement highlighted several controversial Bergman decisions from his time in the House, including his support of State of Texas v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, et al., a lawsuit filed with the Supreme Court that contested the 2020 presidential election.

“…Rep. Bergman has demonstrated time and time again that he is more interested in Washington politics than serving his constituents,” Barr said in her statement. “I'm running to unseat Rep. Bergman to take back our democracy from a divisive extremist who is only looking to pad his political resume while he continues to ignore the needs of our district. Here at home, we’re ready for real leadership.”