Rep. Jim Jordan’s formal announcement, while long expected, is a major threat to Kevin McCarthy or any other Republican who wants to be speaker. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo Jordan launches long-shot bid for speaker The conservative Ohio Republican is a threat to McCarthy’s ambitions.

Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan — the most influential member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus — launched a long-shot bid for speaker on Thursday, throwing down a challenge to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

In a letter to his Republican colleagues, Jordan criticized the current House GOP leadership, although he didn't single out McCarthy or Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) by name, and said Americans “believe that our congressional majorities have let them down.”


“They want us to stop caving so quickly to the likes of Pelosi and Schumer doing what we said we would do,” the Ohio Republican declared.

Jordan then proposed a conservative legislative agenda for the fall that he said would guarantee Republicans keep their majority in November, including repealing Obamacare; cutting more taxes; adding work requirements to federal welfare programs; revising immigration laws and funding President Donald Trump’s border wall; cutting off federal funds to Planned Parenthood; and enacting big spending cuts. None of these initiatives are likely to pass at this point.

Jordan also said he wants to “decentralize” power in the House by taking power away from leadership and returning it to committee chairmen, basically a reversal of what Republicans did when they won control of the chamber in 1994.

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If Republicans do keep their majority in the face of rising Democratic enthusiasm, Jordan said, “I plan to run for speaker of the House to bring real change to Congress.”

“President Trump has taken bold action on behalf of the American people,” Jordan added. “Congress has not held up its end of the deal, but we can change that.”

Jordan immediately picked up backing from GOP Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, the Freedom Caucus chairman, and Andy Biggs of Arizona, although most members hadn’t even seen the announcement as they sprinted out of town following the start of a five-week House recess.

“Jim is one of the most honorable, thoughtful, and principled men I’ve met in Washington,” Meadows said in a statement. “Jim is a fighter, a leader, and a true conservative in every way. He never backs down from a fight when his values are on the line.”

Jordan’s formal announcement, while long expected, is a major threat to McCarthy or any other Republican who wants to be speaker.

Jordan can’t win the speakership. He has offended too many of his colleagues over the years, despite his popularity with the conservative media and outside groups, according to a number of Republican lawmakers. Jordan is admired by fellow Republicans, yet they view him as an ideologue who plays more to the conservative base than someone who can actually govern or pass legislation.

“Jordan is a very smart guy,” said a top House Republican, who asked for anonymity. “But there’s no way he can ever be speaker. It’s Fantasyland stuff.”

But Jordan might have his eyes on another prize. Conservatives close with Jordan have long said he would run simply to leverage concessions from the next speaker. He wants to be a chairman and has been eyeing the Oversight and Government Reform Committee gavel for years. Jordan could also have his eye on chairing the House Judiciary Committee.

The 54-year-old Jordan has also failed to do the political grunt work needed to win support from his colleagues. McCarthy and Ryan spend enormous amounts of time traveling the country raising millions of dollars for their colleagues. That kind of effort is vital for leadership campaigns; if members can’t get reelected, they can’t vote for someone to be speaker. Jordan, on the other hand, does relatively little of that, and he doesn’t have a leadership PAC.

Instead, Jordan spends a lot of his free time on Fox News or other media outlets telling his colleagues what they should be doing.

In recent weeks, Jordan has also been caught up in a sex abuse scandal at Ohio State University. He worked as an assistant wrestling coach at the university from 1986 to 1994, when a team doctor allegedly sexually abused wrestlers and other athletes. Several former wrestlers have accused Jordan of being aware of the situation and doing nothing, but the lawmaker says he didn’t know about the alleged abuse.

Jordan has repeatedly demonstrated that he can control dozens of conservative votes on the floor, making him a kingmaker inside the Republican Conference. He helped topple former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in 2015 — despite the fact that Boehner helped save his seat from redistricting after the 2010 census — and he blocked McCarthy from becoming speaker, thereby paving the way for Ryan to win the post.

McCarthy, therefore, has to view Jordan’s announcement as a direct challenge to his own ambitions. If Jordan can hold onto the Freedom Caucus votes next year and oppose McCarthy’s bid for speakership — in a majority that is likely to be smaller, if it exists at all — then the California Republican won’t get the job.

McCarthy wouldn’t comment directly on Jordan’s candidacy for speaker. “I’m spending my time keeping the majority,” McCarthy said.

