The possibility of Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) becoming Speaker of the House — which would place him after only the vice president in line for the presidency — continues to circulate among House Republicans, and former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney continues characterizing the Ohioan as unfit for the job.
At this point, it’s extremely unclear how close he’ll even get, considering the ongoing struggles among active House Republicans to assemble the needed level of support for any pick to push them to the majority they need. But after the withdrawal from consideration of Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), House Republicans formally made Jordan their pick.
“Jim Jordan was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to steal the election and seize power; he urged that Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes,” Cheney said. “If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority and they’ll deserve to.”
Jordan has also, in general, explicitly boosted the idea of a stolen election in 2020 — a conspiracy theory that has never found substantial support anywhere at any point. And though he was joined by many others, Jordan was also among the House Republicans voting against the full Congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results as those numbers came up for further consideration in the hours after the Capitol riot. Cheney has previously called out how Jordan refused to cooperate with a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Capitol riot, a panel that Cheney helped lead. Cheney wanted to know what Jordan knew as January 6 approached and questioned why he didn’t raise warnings before what became deadly violence.
Jordan also faces criticism as he denies knowledge of continuous sexual abuse by a now deceased university doctor who targeted athletes at a school where Jordan coached. Individuals connected to the situation have ridiculed Jordan’s dismissive stance.
Jim Jordan was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to steal the election and seize power; he urged that Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes. If Rs nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority and they’ll deserve to.
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) October 13, 2023
