Rep. Jim Jordan has such a reputation as a political brawler that former House Speaker John Boehner once said he’d never met someone “who spent more time tearing things apart.”
Now, nearly a decade after Boehner stepped down in the face of a conservative revolt, it is Jordan who is trying to bring the Republican Party together to win the speaker’s gavel.
A favorite of former President Donald Trump and darling of the party’s rabble-rousing base, Jordan’s path to the U.S. government’s third-highest office is by no means certain in a House Republican conference riven by conflict following the ouster two weeks ago of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. To win, Jordan will need support from nearly every House Republican, having few votes to spare in a chamber they only narrowly control.
Should Jordan succeed, it would help cement the far right’s takeover of the Republican Party and trigger fresh conflict with Democrats over the size and scope of government. But a Jordan speakership would also come with baggage that could present a challenge to Republicans as they labor to hold their House majority in next year’s election, an effort that will likely hinge on drawing support from moderate voters in swing districts.
Read more at APnews.com
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