Jim Jordan 4 min ldr 1126
estb 11 26 blue tsu
DEFENSE FROM OVERSIGHT, BUT ON WHAT COMM?
-=-=
AN 11 26
On Tuesday, a host at Fox News asserted that the latest move by Republican lawmakers in the House makes it clear that they’re “not interested” in moving on from the MAGA agenda that proved to be historically unpopular in the midterms. According to Fox anchor Gillian Turner, the breaking news that House Republicans had just elected MAGA-oriented Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) minority leader for the upcoming term suggests that President Donald Trump and his allies are preparing to aggressively double down on the policies that dealt the party a historic electoral disaster — an assessment co-host Tomi Lahren enthusiastically seconded.
“He's a great messenger,” asserted Lahren, who herself is a longtime defender of MAGA policies. “And if the GOP, Republicans, MAGA, whatever you want to call them, learned anything from last Tuesday, it should be that they need great messengers out there that are able to articulate a viewpoint, a direction, an agenda.” Lahren’s claim comes despite the fact that voters just overwhelmingly rejected MAGA governance, with Trump-endorsed candidates frequently defeated by wide margins as polls show Americans are sick of his administration’s tariffs, deportation campaign, attacks on democracy, and corruption. Jordan — an avid Trump ally — defeated current House Speaker Steve Scalise (R-LA) by a vote of 106 to 73.
“He is certainly a fighter,” noted Turner, saying Jordan was the “more pugilistic choice” compared to Scalise, who himself is pro-MAGA, but prone to less antagonistic methods of pushing its policies. According to Turner, “This certainly signals, at least on the part of the Republicans who voted for him, that they are not interested in modifying their platform in response to the midterms.” While Turner had a note of skepticism in her voice, Lahren was more eager with her assertion that Republicans should “stick to their guns.”
As many commentators have noted, House Republicans’ decision to go with Jordan won’t likely thrill anyone outside Trump’s more fundamentalist supporters. “This will excite the (quickly dwindling) MAGA base,” noted Zeteo political columnist Justin Baragona. “But it is unclear how this helps the GOP House minority over the next two years.” As Democratic strategist Matt McDermott pointed out, this follows a questionable trend in post-midterm GOP appointments: “Seriously not sure Democrats could have scripted a better Republican response to last week’s historic midterm defeat than Stephen Miller becoming White House chief of staff and Jim Jordan taking over House Republican leadership.” According to National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin, “Electing Jim Jordan as caucus leader is a pretty clear sign that House Republicans intend to do nothing the next two years but fight investigations of the executive branch.” And in the estimation of former presidential appointee Andrew Weinstein, “Electing Jim Jordan as minority leader suggests the House GOP has learned exactly the wrong lesson from its defeats.”
Regardless, predicted Lahren, over the next two years, Republicans will be “drilling down on their America First agenda.” It was that agenda, she claimed, that won Trump the presidency in 2024 and created the “new” Republican Party, which she refers to as the “America First” Republican Party. “Even though President Trump will not be in office at the end of this term,” concluded Lahren, “I think that the MAGA agenda will move forward.”
-=-=
-=-=
MMA
Fox News Caucus: New House GOP leader Jim Jordan has made at least 716 weekday appearances on Fox since 2017
Written by Matt Gertz
Research contributions from Harrison Ray
Published 11/10/26
House Republicans put one of Fox News’ main characters in command of their ranks on Tuesday when they elected Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) as minority leader following the party’s brutal defeats in the midterm elections.
Jordan is part of what I term the “Fox News Caucus” of House Republicans, representatives who bootstrapped their political careers by catching Donald Trump’s eye with frequent appearances on the right-wing network. The president, an avid Fox watcher, would reportedly often phone Jordan during his first term because he had seen the congressman “on TV defending him,” which made Jordan “influential in shaping administration policies.” All told, Jordan has made at least 716 appearances on Fox weekday programming since August 2017, according to a review of the Media Matters database.
The Ohio congressman became particularly close with Sean Hannity, the Fox primetime host who also serves as a Trump political operative, on whose TV program Jordan has appeared at least 243 times. When Jordan ran for House speaker in October 2023, Hannity endorsed his bid on-air, whipped votes for him, threatened and belittled House Republicans who opposed him, and urged his audience to call their representatives and tell them to support Jordan’s bid.
Read these past Media Matters works for more details of Jordan’s relationship with Fox, including the network’s effort to help him overcome allegations that as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University he failed to stop a team doctor from molesting his charges; his role in the Trumpian election subversion plot that resulted in the January 6 insurrection; and his Judiciary Committee probe of Hunter Biden whose “heart” was the claim of a “highly credible confidential human source” who was later indicted and ultimately pleaded guilty for making up his story:
It’s not just Trump — House Republicans are also taking their cues from Fox News.
Jim Jordan is the House speaker that Sean Hannity has been waiting for.
Jim Jordan is Fox News’ man in Congress. Now, he may become House speaker.
Sean Hannity's Jim Jordan faceplant.
How Fox hosts are reacting to the collapse of their FBI “informant” story.
//
Jim Jordan is Fox News’ man in Congress. Now, he may become House speaker.
10/10/23 10:41 AM EDT
Jim Jordan is the House speaker that Sean Hannity has been waiting for
10/05/23 12:30 PM EDT
How Fox hosts are reacting to the collapse of their FBI “informant” story
02/20/24
-=-=-
AN 11 26
On Tuesday, as GOP lawmakers met to select who will lead their House minority in the upcoming term, leakers revealed Republican 'bellyaching' over leaks. Word that members of the party are despairing over leaks came amidst a raging fight over the GOP's future in the wake of its historic midterm disaster.
"Some Republicans are bellyaching about leaks," noted Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman. Politico congressional reporter Mia Camille McCarthy corroborated, elaborating, "[Rep. Jim] Jordan (R-OH) and [Rep. Steve] Scalise (R-LA) got asked about leaks, people in the room tell me. They both said they hate leaks, according to the people." The internet was quick to notice the irony of the leaked leaks. "Leaking about leaks is one of my favorite tweet genres," joked one commenter. "That's like complaining about barking at a kennel," jested another.
While the leaking of secret information happens during all administrations, President Donald Trump's two terms have been characterized by revelations about everything from controversial policies and actions, to flaws in Air Force One security, to the existence of resistance groups within the White House, to "MAGA blood feuds," and more. What's more, the wider Republican Party has recently been hit by a number of damaging leaks. In October, Politico published roughly 2,900 pages of encrypted Telegram group chats between Young Republican leaders that contained a slew of racist, sexist and antisemitic comments and jokes, and earlier in the year, similarly troubling group chats between Republican student leaders in Florida were published by the Miami Herald.
Republican lawmakers have complained about leaks before. Last week, following the party's dramatic midterm losses, Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R-WA) warned his fellow conservatives against speaking to Sherman — known for his frequent scoops on Capitol Hill -- saying that anyone who did should not come to him for support in leadership roles. “The slimiest member of the DC press corps who conspires with low integrity attention seekers to leak strategies being discussed in House Republican meetings is Jake Sherman,” Baumgartner posted. “To be clear — If you want my vote for leadership you will commit to no on or off record interviews with Jake Sherman for as long as he leaks our confidential team meetings.” He added, “If being in ‘punchbowl’ is more important than keeping the confidentiality of your colleagues not only are you unfit for Leadership, you shouldn’t call yourself a patriot. Do not call me and ask for my vote unless you are willing to make that commitment.” According to the Daily Beast, Sherman reacted to a similar post by Baumgartner -- in which the representative complained about “un-patriotic attention seekers currying favor with slimy journalists" -- with a simple “lol.”
-=-=
-=-=