(CNN) Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to be the top Republican on the influential House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in the next Congress, after the GOP Ohioan dropped his effort to be President Donald Trump's chief defender on the House Judiciary Committee.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who will be the House's no. 2 Republican next year, said the Steering Committee, whose members decide which Republicans will be the top GOP member on each committee, had decided Jordan would get the Oversight Committee position, after Jordan expressed interest in the position to the committee on Thursday evening.

The race developed rapidly when Jordan and Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who had previously expressed interest in the role, met together off of the room where the Steering Committee was gathered. After an extended period of time, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy walked into the room and invited Jordan to go into the room where Steering was deliberating.

One source on the Steering Committee told CNN that the vote for Jordan was unanimous.

Meadows later said, "It's one of the few times where you can rejoice in somebody else's success, and I rejoice in Jim Jordan's willingness to serve on Oversight and, quite frankly, I think it's a unifying day for our conference."

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