MAGAs Try to Bully Their Way To Speaker’s Gavel
…and insert a ringleader of the insurrection
JORDAN MAKES HIS BID…and gets significant pushback
Last week this blog pointed out that the leading contenders put forth for Speaker by the Republican caucus included one who knew nothing, saw nothing, and said nothing about college wrestlers under his guidance who say they reported the team doctor’s sexual abuse to him and another (Steve Scalise) who reportedly identified his political persona as “David Duke without the baggage.”
Scalise has since fallen by the wayside, and over the weekend MAGAs were leaning on reluctant Republicans who can’t stomach the idea of this bully being elevated to a position that is intended to go to an experienced and proven leader who can craft legislation and get it to the President’s desk.
THAT DOES NOT DESCRIBE Jim Jordan. He has been in Congress for sixteen years — and HE HAS NEVER SPONSORED A BILL THAT HAS PASSED. Think on that for a moment. Sixteen year tenure, has never sponsored a bill that passed even his own branch of Congress…and the majority of his Republican colleagues voted to make him Speaker? …With a threatened government shutdown a few weeks away…and with aid to both Ukraine and Israel being held up while they, respectively, fight Russian authoritarianism and terrorism. What could go wrong?
It was noteworthy, and heartening, that 81 of them voted for an obscure member, Georgia’s Austin Scott, who threw his hat in the ring simply to offer an alternative to the inflammatory Jordan. Also heartening was a follow-up secret ballot in which 55 R members said they would not vote for Jordan in a floor vote. Today news reports suggest there are still enough holdouts to deny him the role, even after a weekend of MAGA “grassroot trolls” and right wing media putting pressure on them to fall in line.
Here’s an example of the right wing media’s lobbying on Jordan’s behalf.
Maybe there will be a backlash from those it is trying to cow.
TRUMP’S WINGMAN
Based on his track record Jordan has no interest in legislation. His raison d’etre is to launch unfounded and illegitimate “investigations” — Impeach Biden! Impeach Majorka! Create the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of Government — and impede legitimate ones. He was a vocal opponent of the Mueller investigation, both of Trump’s impeachments, and against establishing an independent committee to investigate the causes and perpetrators of the January 6 riot. Right now he’s doing his best to shut down all of the Trump prosecutions.
He’s been especially hostile and meddlesome to the Manhattan DA (Alvin Bragg), NY Attorney General (Letitia James) and Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis.
He’s been harassing Willis for information about her investigation under the pretense that his committee (he chairs the House Judiciary Committee) is exploring whether Congress can pass legislation that “would protect former and current presidents from politically motivated state and local prosecutions.”1 Last week Willis responded to Jordan’s demand with some well-chosen words for the Chairman, who holds a Doctor of Law Degree from the Capital University Law School in Ohio, but never took the bar exam. Willis wrote:
“A charitable explanation of your correspondence is that you are ignorant of the United States and Georgia Constitutions and codes. A more troubling explanation is that you are abusing your authority as Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary to attempt to obstruct and interfere with a Georgia criminal prosecution….As I have explained, your requests implicate significant, well recognized confidentiality interests related to an ongoing criminal matter, as well as serious constitutional concerns regarding federalism and separation of powers.”
In an earlier response she had already admonished Jordan for advancing “outrageous partisan misrepresentations,” telling him that there “is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do.”
He would also try to shut down Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecution of Trump and potentially others by defunding that work as a price for keeping the government open (earning him Trump’s vocal support as Speaker).
A DEEPLY INVOLVED AND VOCIFEROUS J-6 INSURRECTIONIST
It’s quite possible that Jordan’s interest in shutting down any January 6 investigations and prosecutions derive not only from his loyalty to Trump, but also to cover up his own actions.
“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.”
-- Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney
He was eyeball-deep in the plot to overturn the election. He was present at a White House meeting with Trump to plan the January 6 Congressional shenanigans (i.e., object to electoral votes and “throw it back to the states”). Jordan was a ringleader of the “Republican Congressmen” Trump was referring to when he told the Acting Attorney General and Assistant Acting Attorney General — who had repeatedly told him that there had been no evidence of electoral fraud that would swing the election — to “Just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.”
The J-6 Committee requested Jordan’s testimony regarding his knowledge of that day’s events. He refused, so the committee issued a subpoena, which he ignored. Nevertheless, the committee had enough evidence to say this about Jordan and the attempted coup (my words, not the the committee’s):
“Representative Jordan was a significant player in President Trump’s efforts. He participated in numerous post-election meetings in which senior White House officials, Rudolph Giuliani, and others, discussed strategies for challenging the election, chief among them claims that the election had been tainted by fraud. On January 2, 2021, Representative Jordan led a conference call in which he, President Trump, and other Members of Congress discussed strategies for delaying the January 6th joint session. During that call, the group also discussed issuing social media posts encouraging President Trump’s supporters to “march to the Capitol” on the 6th. An hour and a half later, President Trump and Representative Jordan spoke by phone for 18 minutes. The day before January 6th, Representative Jordan texted Mark Meadows, passing along advice that Vice President Pence should “call out all the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all.” He spoke with President Trump by phone at least twice on January 6th, though he has provided inconsistent public statements about how many times they spoke and what they discussed. He also received five calls from Rudolph Giuliani that evening, and the two connected at least twice, at 7:33 p.m. and 7:49 p.m. During that time, Giuliani has testified, he was attempting to reach Members of Congress after the joint session resumed to encourage them to continue objecting to Joe Biden’s electoral votes. And, in the days following January 6th, Representative Jordan spoke with White House staff about the prospect of Presidential pardons for Members of Congress.”
“At every single turn, Jim Jordan has prioritized politics, power, fear, division, hate over the American people. Every Republican who casts their vote for him is siding with an insurrectionist against our democracy.” — Katherine M. Clark (R- MA) and the Democratic whip.
IN LINE OF PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
Perhaps most appalling and even frightening — making Jordan Speaker would put him right behind the VP in the line of Presidential succession. Someone who repeatedly and consciously attempted to overturn the Constitutional order and cancel out a Presidential election would be placed in line to lead the country he clearly betrayed. Along with 146 of his Republican Congressional colleagues.
With Jordan in the Speaker’s chair, we’d be that much further down the road of losing our democracy. Hopefully there will be enough “good Republicans” to keep the gavel out of Jordan’s hands.
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Fulton County DA Willis responds to Jordan request for Trump probe info with scathing letter - https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2023/10/12/fulton-county-da-willis-responds-to-jordan-request-for-trump-probe-info-with-scathing-letter#:~:text=Fulton%20County%2C%20Georgia%2C%20District%20Attorney,of%20the%202020%20presidential%20election.