House Intelligence ranking member Devin Nunes will soon shift from the passenger to the driver’s seat in the Republican defense of President Donald Trump as the House enters the public hearing portion of its impeachment inquiry next month.

Nunes, a nine-term California Republican who’s developed a distaste for the media in recent years as he’s become a staunch defender of the president, has taken a low-key role in the impeachment inquiry compared to House Oversight ranking member Jim Jordan, a Trump ally who is more friendly with the press.

It’s an odd dynamic considering Nunes is the GOP counterpart to Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff, who has been chosen by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lead the impeachment inquiry.

Jordan, founding chairman of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Steve Castor, his chief investigative counsel on the Oversight panel, have been leading the Republican questioning in closed-door witness depositions. Nunes has been present — at times — and has participated, but he and his staff have not been directing the GOP portion of the proceedings, several Republican and Democratic sources interviewed for this story told CQ Roll Call.

That begs the question of whether Nunes will be prepared to lead Republican questioning in public hearings, which unlike the closed-door depositions, will be conducted solely by the Intelligence Committee. The Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees have also been party to the depositions.