Jim Jordan: Kevin McCarthy Will Replace Pelosi as Speaker When GOP Flips House
Republican rep throws support behind House Minority Leader
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Republican Rep. Jim Jordan has declared that his one-time rival Kevin McCarthy will replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker when the GOP flips the House and takes it back from the Democrats.
“I think everyone understands that if we take [the House] back, Kevin is going to be the speaker,” Jordan told The Hill this week as he backed McCarthy for GOP leader.
"The president’s been clear about that."
Jim Jordan once ran against McCarthy for GOP leader himself, losing in a 159-43 vote, but the pair has since emerged as powerful allies to President Donald Trump.
Jordan, currently the ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, is making it clear he’d like to jump to the top Republican spot on the House Judiciary Committee.
“I would love that opportunity, but that’s up to the leader and the steering committee.” Jordan acknowledged.
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Jordan’s support marks how far McCarthy has come in converting a once vocal critic into a loyal supporter, according to The Hill.
Jordan, who maintains strong influence in the conservative Republican group, previously ran against McCarthy for the role of minority leader after the 2018 midterms, losing the race with a 159-43 vote.
The conservative caucus, which has been a thorn in the side of GOP leader in the past, really showed its might in 2015 after the group forced then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to resign and blocked McCarthy from taking over his role.
But now, Jordan is indicating that the Freedom Caucus will support McCarthy.
“When you take back the majority, the person who’s in charge of the team taking it back, I think that the team comes together,” Jordan said Thursday, asked if the Freedom Caucus would also support McCarthy.
“Kevin’s done a good job of keeping the team together and this entire impeachment process so I think everyone appreciates him,” he added.
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During the House impeachment proceedings, McCarthy temporarily named Jordan to the House Intelligence Committee to cross-examine witnesses.
Meanwhile, Jordan has praised McCarthy’s leadership and ability to hold what was once a divided Republican caucus together.
“This is the most unified House Republicans have been since I’ve been in Congress,” Jordan told Politico late last year.
“Kevin played a critical role in leading this effort, and it kept the team together and made us stronger than ever.”
In an interview with Politico, McCarthy says he tried to bring the party together and mend the divisions that plagued Republicans during their time in the majority.
“I wanted to unite in the minority. I didn’t want us to go back into the majority the way we were,” he said.
In a sign that McCarthy’s efforts to unite the party may have paid off, he managed to hold his members together during the House vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
No Republicans voted in favor of either article during the December 18 vote.
