WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-4) has confirmed Wednesday that he will run to become the next speaker of the House, replacing the ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy was voted out of the job Tuesday in an extraordinary showdown — a first in U.S. history, forced by a contingent of hard-right conservatives and throwing the House and its Republican leadership into chaos.
"We are at a critical crossroad in our nation's history," Jordan wrote in a letter to House members posted on his social media feeds. "Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans."
Jordan was among a long line of Republicans who had stood behind McCarthy, saying after Tuesday's vote, "He kept his word."
McCarthy’s chief rival, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, orchestrated the rare vote on the obscure “motion to vacate,” and pushed ahead swiftly into a dramatic afternoon roll call. While McCarthy enjoyed support from most Republicans in his slim majority, eight Republican detractors — many of the same hard-right holdouts who tried to stop him from becoming speaker in January — essentially forced him out.
The 59-year-old Jordan serves as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and has long been an ally of former President Donald Trump. He was first elected to Congress in Ohio's 4th District in 2006.
"The problems we face are challenging, but they are not insurmountable. We can focus on the changes that improve the country and unite us in offering real solutions," Jordan added in his letter. "But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference. I respectfully ask for your support for Speaker of the House of Representatives.”
Often in the news and sometimes controversial (even with members of his own party), Jordan has long had a reputation of being aggressive. Justin Buchler, an associate professor of political science at Case Western Reserve University, says this is the Urbana native's best chance to become speaker.
"Jim Jordan has been eyeing a leadership position for a while, and it's just been a question of timing," Buchler told 3News.
And throughout the years, he has focused on unique tactics to build his status.
"Jim Jordan's approach throughout his entire career is to be the most aggressive partisan warrior in Congress," Buchler said. "He has gained prominence in some other ways on committees during hearings with kind of a rapid-fire approach to questioning."
But Jordan's legislative record is slim — no bill he has sponsored has ever become law.
"He has built his reputation through partisan warfare," Buchler noted. "That's what he does. You can't go down the list of bills called 'The Jim Jordan Bill.' Those bills don't exist."
Though Buchler says Jordan has struggled in leadership contests in the past, he does have his share of support this time around, including from Ohio GOP Chairman Alex Triantafilou.
"Congressman Jim Jordan is a staunch conservative and a fearless advocate for the America First movement," Triantafilou said in a statement. "I fully support his bid to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Ohioans across the Buckeye State are confident in his leadership and ability to end the Democrats' insanity in Washington."
But Buchler things otherwise.
"The idea of that as speaker, and the idea that that would work? That would be chaos," he said.
Currently, Jordan's district includes all of Ashland and Richland counties.