Jordan, the hard-charging conservative firebrand, will lead GOP House after midterm losses

House Republicans on Tuesday elected Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan as their leader when Democrats take control of the chamber in January, elevating the conservative stalwart to his first GOP leadership post after several tries since getting elected to Congress roughly 20 years ago. 

Perhaps known best for his hard-charging investigative work as leader of the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan's new post will challenge him to find ways to advance the GOP agenda without the majority of votes and to elevate his political acumen in that he will speak for the entire conference and perhaps, when necessary, seek bipartisan deals to advance its larger agenda. 

Still, Jordan, a strong supporter of President Trump, seemed to suggest after winning the post in a 106-73 vote that his role will be more of a check on Democrats.

“Over the next two years, House Republicans will fight for American families,” said Jordan, co-founder of the conservative Freedom Caucus. “When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom, and we will bring that fight in committee, on the floor and on the stump every single day.”

Though Jordan was considered earlier in his congressional career to be a conservative firebrand who often clashed with the GOP leadership team, he became more of a team player in recent years as he led House committees.

He ran unsuccessfully for House minority leader in 2018 against Kevin McCarthy. And in 2023, he mounted an unsuccessful bid for House speaker after McCarthy was ousted from the post. This time he won over Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who also mounted an unsuccessful bid to replace McCarthy in 2023.

Throughout much of his time in office, the 62-year-old Jordan has been primarily focused on investigations, pursuing probes into Democratic lawmakers and government figures accused of “weaponizing” the powers of the government. He has also led a subcommittee specifically addressing alleged “weaponization” of the federal government.

“Mr. Jordan has never been in leadership," former Jordan communications director Russell Dye said on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show.

"What he has done through the Judiciary Committee is he's gotten the most extensive immigration bill passed in maybe the history of the Congress. And what we need to do is to continue to work to keep those immigration numbers down, which President Trump ran on primarily, which polled extensively before last Tuesday's election.”

Also on Tuesday, Senate Republicans voted in favor of keeping South Dakota Sen. John Thune as their leader, after losing control of the chamber to Democrats in last week's midterm elections.

Thune said afterward in a statement that Republicans “remain united in our commitment to advancing conservative priorities, working with President Trump and our colleagues in the House, and holding the line against Democrats’ efforts to enact their far-left, liberal agenda.”

The 65-year-old lawmaker moves from Senate majority leader to minority leader following requests from some conference members to first deconstruct how Republicans lost control of Congress and concerns about their legislative priorities in their final weeks in control of the chamber.

Thune also said: “I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today, and I am honored to have their continued trust and support to lead the Senate Republican Conference in the 120th Congress."

Jordan, a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and received a Juris Doctor degree from the Capital University Law School in 2001.

In his new role, he will be charged with shaping the party’s strategy against the investigations Democrats are expected to pursue against the Trump administration in its final two years.

Said Dye: “It’s like I said, investigation, investigation, investigation into every company, into every person tied to the president, into the president himself, family, Donald Trump, Eric Trump. I mean, good lord, Stephen Miller, Katie Miller, anyone you can imagine. That's who they're going to go after.”

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.