Jim Jordan: disturbing facts about the man who almost became House Speaker

Jim Jordan missed out on his chance to become Speaker of the House after he lost a secret ballot following a complicated week on Capitol Hill. However, most voters hadn’t heard of the Ohio Republican before all this drama. So who is Jim Jordan?

Loved by his fans and hated by his detractors, Jordan has been operating on the fringes of conservative politics for the better part of three decades but he’s only become a force to be reckoned with since establishing the House Freedom Caucus in 2015. 

You may think you know Jordan now based on his recent media coverage but there is a lot more to the man than meets the eye. Here are a few facts that you likely didn’t know about the congressman, some of which might actually worry you. 

Jordan has been a staple of Ohio politics for nearly three decades having first served in the Ohio House Representatives from 1995 to 2000 before serving for six years in Ohio as a state senator. In 2006, Jordan was elected to Ohio’s 4th Congressional District.  

However, in all of Jordan’s sixteen years in federal politics, the congressman has never passed a single bill into law and the Center for Effective Law Making has ranked Jordan as one of the least effective legislators in Congress according to Politico. ‘

Only four other members of Congress ranked below Jordan in the last four Congresses according to the Washington Post, which also reported Jordan has ranked in the bottom quarter of House Republicans in every Congress he’s served in. 

Jordan might not have a stellar record of legislative success in the House but he enjoys an unparalleled reputation for being a hard-bargain negotiator who is a staunch defender of Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s favorite attack dog. 

“To his allies, his pugnacity makes him a fitting leader for a fractured conference; to his detractors, it makes him a cynical bully and a serious threat to democracy,” wrote Anna Canizales and Ian Ward of Politico. But what are some examples?

CNN noted that Jordan is a passive skeptic of the 2020 Election and added that the congressman has appeared at a Stop the Steal rally in Pennsylvania. The news network even stated that Jordan may have played a role in Trump’s post-election to overturn the results. 

Jordan also played a role in the January 6th Capitol Attack according to Republican Liz Cheney, who accused him of urging Mike Pence to refuse to count lawful electoral votes in a tweet bashing the Ohio Representative and his attempt to become House Speaker. 

CNN also noted that Jordan has refused a subpoena from the House Ethics Committee investigating the January 6th. Jordan is a prominent figure in the committee’s report and was one of the main contacts from Trump’s attempted electoral delay tactics. 

Jordan’s actions on and surrounding January 6th make a lot of sense since he was one of the founding members of the House Freedom Caucus, a group that Politico wrote headlined the overthrow of House Speaker John Boehner nine months later. 

Boehner once called Jordan a “legislative terrorist” due to his style of politics according to Politico, and it’s an apt title for how Jordan has operated in Congress. Jordan was the chief architect of the 2013 government shutdown and has backed some very weird policies in Congress. 

For example, Jordan voted against additional military support for Ukraine, supported the impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, and once co-sponsored a bill aimed at that would define marriage as a union between only a man and a woman. 

Jordan has lost a bid for Speaker of the House once before in October 2015 according to Politico, which means he’s now been turned down twice by Republicans to lead them in the House of Representatives. 

The most interesting fact about Jordan that you likely don’t know is that he’s appeared on Fox News more than any other current Republican member of Congress giving at least 565 interviews since 2017 according to Politico.