House

House Republicans move Jordan to Judiciary, Meadows to Oversight

by Olivia Beavers and Juliegrace Brufke - 02/06/20 5:34 PM ET

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) will soon become the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, after the House Republican Steering Committee voted unanimously Thursday to have him replace Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), multiple sources told The Hill.

Separately, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) will take over Jordan’s top GOP post on the House Oversight Committee.

The move essentially installs two of President Trump’s fiercest allies on top committees, giving the administration two strong supporters to combat Democrats’ next investigations into the White House.

Jordan, one of the founders of the House Freedom Caucus, will be taking over for Collins, who holds the ranking member position. Collins is running in the Georgia Senate primary election against incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.).

Under House GOP conference rules, lawmakers in leadership positions or heads of committees have to step down from their roles after launching bids for higher office unless a waiver is approved.

Still, Collins is expected to receive a monthlong waiver to stay on as the ranking member of the panel, sources said. After that, Jordan is set to take over the high-profile role.

Meadows advocated for Jordan before the Steering Committee, which consists of top Republican lawmakers and is tasked with determining committee assignments.

Jordan’s appointment not only symbolizes how far his relationship with House Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has come, but it further opens the opportunity for McCarthy to foster good will with the House Freedom Caucus.

The White House has pushed for Jordan to move to Judiciary and for Meadows to take over Jordan’s role as the ranking member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Jordan sought the top Judiciary post just ahead of the start of the 116th Congress, but an eleventh-hour deal was struck where he was selected as the ranking member on the Oversight panel, with Meadows agreeing to drop his bid for Oversight to allow Jordan to run unopposed.

Jordan was one of Trump’s leading defenders during the impeachment proceedings, when McCarthy temporarily added him to the House Intelligence Committee to serve as an attack dog for the president while the panel conducted its fact-finding phase of the impeachment hearings.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) praised Jordan for keeping members informed during the closed-door depositions during the impeachment proceedings and the role he played in defending the president.

“I was very supportive of the decision to for Jim to ultimately take over the Judiciary Committee once Doug steps down next month, and I think Jim’s going to do a great job,” he told reporters shortly after the decision was announced.

“He’s already done a great job on Oversight, and I think that Mark Meadows is going to be a very, very solid replacement for Jim over there.”

Updated Feb. 6, 7:01 p.m.

Tags Donald Trump Doug Collins Jim Jordan Kelly Loeffler Kevin McCarthy Mark Meadows Steve Scalise