James Daniel Jordan is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district since 2007. A member of the Republican Party,
he is a former collegiate wrestler (winning two NCAA National Championships) and college wrestling coach. Jordan is the current nominee of the House Republican Conference for the October 2023 Speaker of the House election.
Jordan is a founding member of the Right-wing populist House Freedom Caucus, serving as its first chair from 2015 to 2017, and as its vice chair since 2017. He was the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee from 2019 to 2020. He vacated that position to become the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, of which he became chair in 2023.
Jordan is a close ally of former president Donald Trump. During Trump's presidency, Jordan sought to discredit investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and staged a sit-in to prevent a Trump impeachment inquiry hearing over the Trump–Zelenskyy telephone controversy. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump tried to overturn the election, Jordan supported lawsuits to challenge the election results and voted not to certify the Electoral College results. He refused to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, which subpoenaed him on May 12, 2022.[1][2]
Jim Jordan's Early Life and Education
Jim Jordan was born in Troy, Ohio, and raised in Champaign County, Ohio. He attended and wrestled for Graham High School, graduating in 1982. He won state championships all four years he was in high school and compiled a 156–1 win–loss record. He then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he became a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion. Jordan won the 1985 and 1986 NCAA championship matches in the 134-pound (61 kg) weight class. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1986.
Jordan earned a master's degree in education from Ohio State University and received a Juris Doctor degree from the Capital University Law School in 2001. In a 2018 interview, Jordan said he never took the bar examination.
Early Career
Ohio State Coach
Jordan was an assistant coach with Ohio State University's wrestling program from 1987 to 1995. During his tenure, Richard Strauss, the team physician, was accused of sexually abusing student-athletes. Strauss died by suicide in 2005, but the allegations against him have since been substantiated by an independent investigation.
Several former wrestlers have accused Jordan of failing to report Strauss's abuse, even though they say they told him about it. Jordan has denied any wrongdoing, but he has also refused to cooperate with investigations into the scandal.
Ohio General Assembly
In 1994, Jordan was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. He served three terms in the House before being elected to the Ohio Senate in 2000. He served two terms in the Senate.
Summary
Jim Jordan had a successful early career as a wrestler and coach. However, his reputation has been tarnished by allegations that he failed to report sexual abuse by a team physician while he was coaching at Ohio State University. Jordan has denied any wrongdoing, but he has also refused to cooperate with investigations into the scandal.
On October 13, Jordan won the Republican nomination for the October 2023 Speaker of the House election. This came after a failed previous bid for the nomination against Steve Scalise, who ultimately withdrew after falling short of garnering the necessary 217 votes to secure the speakership.
Summary
Jim Jordan is a Republican politician who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. He is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and a close ally of former president Donald Trump. Jordan is currently the nominee of the House Republican Conference for the October 2023 Speaker of the House election.
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