Jordan: Rosenstein, border security should be top priority
House Republican sounds off on the most important issues that need to be addressed before the new Congress.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, ended his bid on Thursday to be the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee in the next Congress.
“He will not be seeking the position,” Ian Fury, Jordan’s spokesperson, told Fox News. “The leadership has made clear to us that they are going to be selecting someone else.”
Jordan, a conservative and founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, was encouraged to run for the post in the influential committee amid talk that Democrats will be issuing a slew of subpoenas aimed at President Trump and his administration when they claim the House majority in January.
But there have been doubts cast about Jordan’s ability to pull together enough allies to make it through the steering committee, which is largely controlled by GOP leadership.
A Republican familiar with the steering committee process, however, pushed back on Jordan's suggestion that he was blocked from on high -- noting leadership does not make decisions on these positions. That falls to the steering committee representing a portion of the conference.
It is unclear who will eventually be selected to be the ranking member, but Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot and Georgia Rep. Doug Collins are both heavily campaigning for the post. Another Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, is also mulling over running for the posting, but his push would be hindered by the same issues facing Jordan.
Jordan has been busily attempting to make moves since the midterm elections and the House flipping to the Democrats for the first time since 2011.
The Ohio lawmaker challenged Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., earlier this month for the role of House minority leader, but lost when McCarthy garnered 159 votes to the Ohio representative’s 43 votes.
While Jordan enjoyed support from members of his own Freedom Caucus, he simply didn't have wide enough support to defeat McCarthy.
“Jordan comes with a lot of baggage,” Bruce Oppenheimer, a professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University, told Fox News, noting “Republicans now have to work with a Democratic majority.”
“He’s a bit of a loose cannon,” he added. “Jordan is a bomb thrower.”
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