Jordan ends hopes of leading Judiciary for House GOP

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is bowing out of the race for ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, his spokesman told The Hill.

Jordan was encouraged by fellow conservatives to run for the high-profile committee role amid expectations that Democrats will be issuing a slew of investigations into President Trump and his administration next Congress.

“He won’t be seeking the position, it has been made clear to him that leadership is going to be selecting someone else,” said Jordan’s spokesman, Ian Fury.

{mosads}Questions of whether Jordan would officially throw his name and his energy into the contested race circled until the final day of when he would need to declare his interest in the role.

Leading up to this decision, Republican lawmakers cast doubt on whether Jordan has enough allies in the GOP conference to make it through the steering committee, a voting body largely controlled by Republican leadership.

Jordan, a leading voice in the conservative House Freedom Caucus, challenged House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for minority leader of the House Republican Conference — a move that may have further alienated his relations with members of the Republican Steering Committee and GOP leadership.

Some GOP lawmakers have privately questioned whether Jordan would be a thorn in leadership’s side if he were named the Judiciary Committee’s attack dog.

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, is currently seen as the front-runner in the race. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) is also seeking the position. 

There is a possibility that Jordan could change course and pursue the ranking member role of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where his close House ally Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) is currently running uncontested.

Jordan is the senior GOP member of Oversight returning to the next Congress and is active on both panels, including their joint investigation into FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) decision-making during the 2016 presidential election. Meadows has been deeply involved in the probe as well.

Some congressional sources believe the amiable Meadows might have a better shot of winning the post in a contest with Jordan, however. They say Meadows is well-liked among the GOP conference.

It is unclear whether Meadows would defer to Jordan for the ranking member position of Oversight.