Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) may take on a new role in the impeachment inquiry as it moves into its public phase.
Top House Republicans are reportedly considering temporarily assigning Jordan, who is currently a ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, to the House Intelligence Committee — the panel assigned to conduct initial public impeachment inquiry hearings. Jordan has led GOP efforts in the closed-door impeachment proceedings thus far.
A senior Republican involved in the process told CBS, who first reported the possible move Monday night, that discussions about Jordan’s possible House Intelligence Committee move are “active and serious.” The Washington Post also reported the news Tuesday morning, citing two GOP aides familiar with the matter. The Post noted that the move would need to be approved by the full House next week when it comes back into session. It is currently unclear which Republican on the committee would be removed. Republican conference rules also dictate that the speaker of the House handles appointments to the Select Committee on Intelligence.
Jordan confirmed his possible House Intel role during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning.
“We’ll see. That’s a call for [House Minority] Leader McCarthy,” Jordan said, adding that he “just wants to help our team.”
“I want to help the country see the truth here, that President Trump didn’t do anything wrong, and that what the Democrats are doing is partisan, it’s unfair and frankly it’s ridiculous,” Jordan said.
Jordan also doubled down on his demand Monday morning for the whistleblower to publicly testify while throwing House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) under the bus.
“One way you determine someone’s credibility, what their motivation is, what biases they may have, they need to be under oath, answering your questions and frankly the position we have is the same position Adam Schiff had six weeks ago,” Jordan said. “Remember when this first happened Adam Schiff said we need to hear from the whistleblower. Then, six weeks later, no, no, we don’t.”
However, Jordan did not reiterate his point the day before that the transcripts Schiff would release would be real — an argument that undercuts Trump’s Sunday tweet insisting that Schiff would “change the words.”
When TPM reached out to the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday morning, the panel declined to comment on the possible move.
TPM also reached out to both McCarthy and the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Tuesday and will update this post if we hear back.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, advocated for Jordan’s possible House Intel move in a Tuesday morning tweet and added that Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) and Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) should be considered for the panel as well.
.@GOPLeader has full discretion to put our most effective questioners on intel for this matter.
If @Jim_Jordan @RepMarkMeadows & @RepLeeZeldin aren’t moved on in favor of Republicans who have skipped a majority of the testimony, then shame on us for failing @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/yp4nQoMhdv
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 5, 2019
Watch Jordan’s remarks below:
Jim Jordan responds to reports of his possible move to the House Intelligence Committee pic.twitter.com/a8CEujfy2w
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) November 5, 2019
Correction: This post originally misstated that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had the discretion to choose new members of the Intelligence Committee. Republican conference rules state that the Speaker handles the membership of that committee. We regret the error.
