and in the west, from the Walter
Cronkite school of journalism at
Arizona state university.
Geoff: In the first round of
balloting for the next house
speaker, congressman Jim Jordan
got 200 votes from his
GOP colleagues, short of the 217
he needs.
But the Ohio Republican is
closer to the gavel then he's
ever been before.
Lisa Desjardins has a look at
his controversial record in
congress.
Lisa: Jim Jordan.
The firebrand in the house
Republican conference.
Now with his sights onhands on
the speaker's gavel.
The Ohio congressman first
arrived in Washington in 2007,
having served a dozen years in
the state house and senate.
A champion wrestler in college,
he started his career as an
assistant coach for the Ohio
state university wrestling team
in the 1980s and 90s.
Working with team doctor Richard
Strauss, who the university
later found had molested dozens
of student wrestlers over two
decades.
When the university investigated
in 2018, several former students
claimed Jordan knew about sexual
abuse and harassment by Strauss
and failed to report it.
>> I don't understand why Jimmy
would say that he didn't know
when I personally, as a team
captain, had conversations with
him.
Lisa: Jordan has repeatedly
denied any accusations of
wrongdoing.
>> I knew of no abuse, never
heard of it, never had any
reported to me.
If I had, I'd have dealt with
it.
Lisa: In congress, Jordan was a
founding member of the far-right
freedom caucus, where he gained
a reputation for forgoing suit
jackets and for his combative,
in-your-face style of politics.
>> Jim Jordan was never known as
a compromiser, as a deal cutter.
Lisa: Republican Charlie dent
served with Jordan in congress
until 2018.
>> He was known better for
blowing up deals than he was for
putting them together.
Lisa: As a rank-and-file member,
Jordan changed the game,
attempting to extract gains with
the threat of a government
shutdown.
Former speaker John Boehner, who
Jordan helped push out of the
position in 2015, dubbed Jordan
a legislative terrorist.
>> John Boehner probably would
have rather set himself on fire
than given Jim Jordan any
position of authority.
Lisa: In recent years, Jordan
became a staunch ally of former
president Donald Trump, who even
awarded Jordan the presidential
medal of freedom in the closing
days of the trump
administration.
The former president endorsing
Jordan in his bid for speaker.
>> I think Jim Jordan will be a
great speaker of the house.
Lisa: Their strong ties were on
display in the days after the
2020 presidential election, when
trump claimed the election was
stolen.
Jordan echoed and amplified
those doubts.
And worked on plans to keep
president trump in power.
>> Something doesn't feel right
here.
Our president got 9 million more
votes this time than he did four
years ago.
Lisa: In the days leading up to
the January 6 insurrection,
Jordan, trump and other freedom
caucus members held a discussion
on strategies for delaying the
certification of the electoral
vote, according to the house
January 6 committee report.
And the day before, the
committee wrote, Jordan texted
white house chief of staff mark
meadows, passing along a memo
advising that vice president
pence should call out all the
electoral votes that he believes
are unconstitutional as no
electoral votes at all.
Jordan and trump spoke several
times on January 6 and the day
culminated with Jordan joining
many of his Republican
colleagues to object to the
certification of the electoral
college vote.
Jordan has repeatedly denied
wrongdoing, saying the committee
has twisted the evidence.
He refused to comply with a
subpoena to testify.
Jordan's history pushing for
trump's stolen election lies
could be politically toxic for
some moderate Republicans in
swing districts next year.
>> Every Republican who casts
their vote for him is siding
with an insurrectionist against
our democracy.
Lisa: Democrats have already
begun attacks that could be
central to the 2024 campaign.
>> I could see Democrats trying
to tie every Republican to Jim
Jordan and the more extreme
positions he has taken over the
years.
He brings a style of politics
that I think will make members
in those pragmatic and swing
districts, pragmatic members in
those swing districts very, very
anxious.
Lisa: But at the same time,
Jordan is beloved by the
conservative and trump base,
seen as someone who will knock
down washington-style politics
and entitlement.
>> Jim Jordan is strategic,
scrappy, tough and principled.
He is a mentor, a worker, and
above all, he is a fighter.
Lisa: Since Republicans gained
the house majority in January,
Jordan's been a champion for
conservatives who want the party
to aggressively go after the
Biden white house.
And he has, as judiciary
committee chairman, pounding
away at investigations into the
president.
And his son hunter's business
dealings.
And Jordan is a key figure in
the impeachment inquiry into
president Biden, appointed to
the role by ousted speaker Kevin
Mccarthy.
He spoke at its first hearing,
last month.
>> We know all kinds of false
statements have been made by the
white house.
Joe Biden's made them.
Lisa: No witness, however,
presented evidence of wrongdoing
by Biden, and one said there was
not enough to impeach.
But as speaker, Jordan will have
to find a way to work with the
white house and a
democratic-controlled senate on
big issues, with a government
shutdown looming next month.
>> I always thought Jordan was
better in the opposition where
he could be against things
rather than being for things.
He's going to have to be for
things if he's a speaker in a
Republican majority.
Lisa: Now Jim Jordan also hopes
to bewill be the one in charge
of wrangling a narrow Republican
majority.
That brings us to tonight, where
Jim Jordan, the original rebel
in modern Republican politics,
is now trying to quash a
rebellion against his own
attempts to become speaker.
Geoff: As we mentioned, Jim
Jordan fell 17 votes short of
the 217 he needs to become house
speaker.
Did he expect to lose that many
members on the first round of
voting?
Lisa: It depends on who you ask.
I think it was a bigger majority
then he and Republican allies
were expecting.
As you say, he received 200
votes, but there were 20
Republicans who voted for
someone else, and there were a
slew of other ideas including
Steve Scalise, the former
nominee for speaker who lost let
-- just last week.
Then we see hakeem Jeffries
receiving the most votes of
anyone today, to 12 votes.
So indeed that is a problem.
We know that at least one of
those no votes has switched to
Jordan, but there are others I'm
also told who will be going the
other way.
Tonight, estrange kind of
tension.
I have reporting that the Jordan
camp and some aligned with Steve
Scalise are shooting barbs at
each other at a time when Jim
Jordan needs to be broadening
his attack, he is in a skirmish
with Steve Scalise.
Geoff: It's been two weeks since
Kevin Mccarthy was ousted,
paralyzing the chamber.
How is the GOP explaining yet
another show of disunity and
dysfunction?
Lisa: There are a few
Republicans still trying to cast
the blame on Democrats, but most
admit the obvious, that it is
the failure on their part and
perhaps lit a coke itself.
We talked to those who support
Jim Jordan and what they thought
after this vote today.
What is your reaction to this
vote?
>> I think we are a mess.
I think my constituents believe
we are dysfunction --
dysfunctional.
We need to get back in there.
>> I still believe he can unite
this conference.
What I've said a few times today
is we have to recognize that it
may not happen in the first
Valent.
It took pope Francis by ballots
to get elected.
I think somewhere between the
five and 15, that's where we
will see this end.
>> It can't go on much longer.
And I'm concerned because we are
chasing this emotional theater
instead of the actual things
that could be great stress to
this republic.
>> This is the only branch of
government that we control, and
I think it is important to keep
us in power as a check on Joe
Biden and the senate.
Lisa: Do you control this
chamber?
Are you able to govern?
>> I think we will get to a
speaker soon.
Esa: Those who oppose Jordan
today are taking a lot of heat
from callers around the country.
I spoke to one, Mike Kelly of
Pennsylvania.
He said it was now just about
Jim Jordan, but the idea that
Steve Scalise won fair and
square and here are group of
Republicans who refuse to accept
it.
Here is Mike Kelly.
>> There's a thing called
integrity that should be the
basis of what everyone thinks
and what they believe.
Lisa: Could you consider
changing to Jordan at any point?
>> No, I can't, because we
already had elected somebody to
be our speaker.
I have nothing against Jim
Jordan, I just don't like when
people break the rules because
it's not something they like.
Lisa: And assign that there are
not more people being swayed by
Jim Jordan is that there is not
another vote scheduled tonight.
So it does not seem like they
wanto roll the dice again
tonight.
Geoff: What about the other 16
Republicans who are opposed to
Jim Jordan.
What are they giving us the
reason?
Lisa: Kay Granger, when Jim
Jordan was nominated today, I
saw her sit in her seat, one of
the only Republicans who did not
applaud.
It's notable that we saw several
of the no votes --, there are
real doubts about Jim Jordan,
another voice I want to
highlight, the congressman we
talked about before.
His reason for voting no today
he said is because Jim Jordan
would not answer a simple
question, does he still believe,
or did he ever and does he
believe now that the 2020
election was stolen?
He says that Jim Jordan has not
answered that question and he
has a real concern that this is
an election denier who could be
speaker.
For that reason, he is a no.
Geoff: Lisa, thank you.
♪♪