Speaker Jim Jordan. The phrase would have long been unthinkable, even laughable, to most Republicans in the House of Representatives.
But it’s now on the verge of being a reality. Long considered a firebrand, an attack dog, and even a “legislative terrorist” (per former Speaker John Boehner), Jordan may be about to become the highest-ranking House official.
Previous Republican speakers — Boehner, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy — were conservatives who accommodated their conference’s right flank in various ways. But Jordan is of the hard right. He’s a staunch Donald Trump ally and was a collaborator in Trump’s effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory — he privately advised the White House that Vice President Mike Pence should throw out electoral votes from states Biden won.
Jordan’s cultivation of the right helped him rise to power in the GOP conference, often at the expense of previous leaders like Boehner, and helped him survive a scandal that threatened to derail his career in 2018. Jordan then made somewhat of a turn, building an alliance with McCarthy — just as the House GOP establishment embraced the hard right more tightly and moved further in Jordan’s direction.
If Jordan wins the speakership, it would become unmistakably clear that the right-wing hardliners who’ve had increasing influence in the House GOP are now in charge of the conference. That’s not because of greater numbers — Jordan got less support than Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) in last week’s GOP conference vote. It’s because of the hardliners’ greater willingness to bring the House to a halt if they don’t get their way.
Nineteen Republicans, mostly hardliners, had publicly said they wouldn’t support Scalise’s nomination on the House floor, which would have been enough to block him from getting the job. As of Tuesday morning, there are far fewer Republicans openly declaring their opposition to Jordan.
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