Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the GOP’s most vocal partisans and now the chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee, started a recent meeting on the “weaponization” of the federal government with a surprising move: He urged caution.
Rather than issuing a series of partisan attack lines about the so-called “Deep State,” Jordan took a low-key approach – handing out binders of reading materials and cautioning members to be meticulous about who they haul in for interviews, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.
“We’re going to try to get all the facts on the table for the American people, because that’s always the first step,” Jordan told CNN after the Jan. 27 meeting.
Jordan allies have gone out of their way in recent weeks to claim the usually hyper-partisan attack dog wants to take a more methodical approach in turning up the heat on his primary target – the Biden Justice Department. The Ohio Republican, they said, believes amassing more evidence before mounting public pressure could help him squeeze more from DOJ and boost his credibility in the long run.
“It’s important to be methodical,” Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, chairwoman of the House Republican conference and a member of the so-called weaponization subcommittee told CNN. “Jim knows the different levers to use.”
But around Washington, skepticism abounds over whether a longtime Trump loyalist, partisan firebrand and staunch election denier can transform into a serious committee chair – let alone someone capable of heading a bipartisan investigation.
“Better late than never!” Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, a newly-appointed member of the weaponization subcommittee, told CNN of Jordan’s attempted rebrand. But Connolly, and other Democrats who spoke to CNN for this story, made clear they weren’t holding their breath.
“If he wants…
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