Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Jim Jordan are vying for the top positions on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and House Judiciary Committee. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Congress Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows vying to defend Trump on key committees The Freedom Caucus leaders are running for positions on the Judiciary and Oversight panels.

An intense behind-the-scenes power struggle over who will become Donald Trump’s top congressional defender is coming to a head as two Freedom Caucus leaders and their allies pressure senior Republicans to give them two top committee posts.

Rep. Jim Jordan has formally launched a bid to become the top Republican lawmaker on the House Judiciary Committee, according to two leadership sources, while Rep. Mark Meadows is going for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.


Both face an uphill battle and have made numerous enemies during their tenure leading the Freedom Caucus.

But GOP sources on the Hill and close to the White House say they’re hoping Trump advocates on their behalf to help them win the positions. Trump — who is close to both men — has urged House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to make a deal to give them prime committee assignments. And two of Trump's top advisers off the Hill, Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, have been making the case for the duo publicly and privately.

GOP leaders are set to informally discuss the matter Tuesday night as they begin to organize for the next Congress. The Republican Steering Committee, a group of several dozen lawmakers close to GOP leaders, is ultimately responsible for recommending ranking members. Both men would have to be elected to the positions, though lawmakers give leaders’ preferences ample consideration before voting.

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The Steering Committee meets Wednesday and Thursday.

McCarthy would anger other House Republicans if he pushes Jordan for Judiciary, which has jurisdiction over impeachment matters. Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia and Steve Chabot of Ohio also are running for the position and are considered team players, whereas Jordan often bucks leadership and annoys his colleagues with his constant insistence on ideological purity.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a Republican member of the Judiciary Committee, said Jordan is the best choice to be the Republican face of the committee while the GOP is in the minority.

"Collins and Chabot are fine legislators. They have great skill in developing legislation and a vision for leadership. They'd make the best chairmen of the committee," he said in a statement to POLITICO. "Neither is qualified to be ranking member now. Neither has attended the depositions of key witnesses in the committee's most important investigations. Jim knows how to fight the battle we are facing. He has internalized the facts and timeline. If he isn't the ranking member, President Trump will be without the most capable defense we could otherwise offer."

"Kevin McCarthy," Gaetz continued, "has the power to make Jim Jordan the lead Republican on Judiciary. If he doesn't, he is actively screwing President Trump. And they both know it."

Ironically, Jordan is next in line to become ranking member on Oversight. For years, he has wanted a leadership position on the panel, and lawmakers on the Steering Committee, according to senior Republicans, were likely to vote for him for the job.

But both men wanted to serve in some leadership capacity, and Jordan decided to try to make the leap for Judiciary, where he is a more junior member, while Meadows decided to go for Oversight.

GOP lawmakers, however, have been telling both men that it’s a risky move. Jordan is in danger of not getting any leadership position if he loses Judiciary, while Meadows could easily win the ranking position on Oversight.

The Judiciary Committee is slated for a major overhaul on the Republican side. Its chairman, Bob Goodlatte, is retiring in January, along with several other senior members, including Reps. Lamar Smith and Ted Poe of Texas, Rep. Darrell Issa of California and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina. Rep. Karen Handel (R-Ga.), another committee member, lost her reelection bid.

The slew of vacancies gives the GOP a chance to remake its committee as it girds for an onslaught of Democratic investigations of the Trump administration led by presumptive incoming chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and a newly empowered Democratic majority.

Chabot has made his case for the ranking member position by highlighting his years of experience on the committee — he's one of just two remaining House members who worked on the Clinton impeachment. Collins, though, has been seen as the favorite for the role — he's spent a year crisscrossing the country to campaign and fundraise for colleagues, building bipartisan consensus on high-profile prison reform legislation and cementing ties with GOP leaders.

The Judiciary Committee also oversees the Justice Department, and Democrats are slated to make Trump's attacks on the FBI — and whether he attempted to obstruct justice in the ongoing Russia probe — a centerpiece of their investigative agenda.

The Oversight Committee, which will also be a flashpoint for Democratic investigations, has been less hotly contested. But the committee is also due for a major overhaul on the Republican side, with its chairman — Gowdy — leaving in January and several lawmakers on their way out.

