Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) confirmed Wednesday that he was running for Speaker of the House after the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the leadership position.
Jordan replied “yes” when asked by reporters if he was running, and said that he had spoken with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) who is also like to run.
McCarthy was ousted from his position Tuesday when a vote on a motion to vacate, brought by far-right Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), passed 216-210 when eight Republicans including Gaetz sided with Democrats who voted en masse in favor of the no confidence vote.
Both Jordan and Scalise are on a growing list of possible successors to McCarthy, which also includes Republican Study Committee chair Kevin Hern (R-OK) and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN).
Jordan has a reputation for being a partisan firebrand who currently chairs not just the House Judiciary Committee but also the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which he helped create to investigate what he’s called “this weaponization of the DOJ against the American people.”
During a heated Judiciary hearing last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland angrily pushed back against accusations by Jordan and other Republicans of political bias in the Department of Justice.
Jordan has also threatened FBI Director Chris Wray with contempt of Congress over what the Representative called “wholly inadequate” compliance with two subpoenas—even though Jordan, himself, in 2022 was referred to the House Ethics Committee for defying a subpoena from the House Select January 6 Committee for testimony and documents.
Jordan and anyone else who runs for the Speaker’s gavel is likely to face a slog much like that which McCarthy experienced in January, when it took four days and 15 rounds of voting for the Californian to secure the Speakership.
PHOTO: Jordan speaks ahead of vote to oust McCarthy on Tuesday
