“I wanted to unite in the minority. I didn’t want us to go back into the majority the way we were,” McCarthy said in an interview in his Capitol office. “So I wanted to put the very best people there.”

Bringing Jordan (R-Ohio) into the fold early on was one of several strategic moves that McCarthy and his allies credit with their ability to keep the GOP Conference in line as Trump battles the threat of impeachment. He also zeroed in on potential weaknesses in Democrats’ handling of the impeachment process and knit the main players together through regular practice sessions before every hearing.

“The key to the unity Republicans have right now is the early decisions he made putting people in positions of power,” said Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, pointing to Jordan atop the Oversight panel and Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia as Republican leader of the House Judiciary Committee.

“That has worked quite well,” McHenry added. “And we benefited as a conference from these early decisions.”

Democrats this week are poised to make Trump the third president ever impeached, after a three-month investigation that they say turned up evidence the president abused his power for political gain and obstructed their efforts to seek the truth in the Ukraine inquiry.

From left, Rep. Jim Jordan and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. | Alex Wong/Getty Images

But despite a damning pile of evidence and some early concerns from a handful of members, House Republicans have locked arms: GOP leaders are expecting zero defections on the floor.

That’s of course due partly to Trump’s dominance of the Republican Party. But it’s also because of McCarthy, who has coordinated closely with Trump — sometimes speaking to him multiple times a day.

"This is the most unified House Republicans have been since I’ve been in Congress," Jordan said. "Kevin played a critical role in leading this effort and it kept the team together and made us stronger than ever.”

McCarthy returned the praise, calling Jordan an "excellent" committee leader due to "his members, his preparation, his helping."

How McCarthy navigates the impeachment battle and whether he can win over his former critics on the right will also go a long way toward determining his future in the party — and whether he can finally win the elusive speaker’s gavel whenever Republicans take back the House.

McCarthy’s close relationship with Trump would help in any leadership fight. Trump praised McCarthy in an October tweet, predicting, “Leader McCarthy, we look forward to you soon becoming Speaker of the House. The Do Nothing Dems don’t have a chance!”

But it’s unclear how long any ceasefire would last between McCarthy and the hard-liners, who torpedoed his bid for speaker in 2015 after John Boehner retired.

And by elevating Jordan in the impeachment battle — McCarthy temporarily placed him on the Intelligence Committee to play attack dog at the public hearings — it could make Jordan even tougher competition should he choose to run against McCarthy again.

Notably, Trump — who is close with McCarthy and Jordan — had also previously lobbied behind the scenes for Jordan to get a leading committee post.

For now, however, McCarthy is earning positive reviews from the same Republicans who once campaigned against him.