Jim Jordan
James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party.
For other people with a similar name, see James Jordan.
Jim Jordan
Mark Meadows
Position established
Mark Meadows
4
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2021)
Two-time NCAA National Champion (wrestling)
Jordan is a two-time NCAA national champion wrestler and a former college wrestling coach. In Congress, Jordan helped start the right-wing populist House Freedom Caucus, serving as its first chair from 2015 to 2017, and as its vice chair since 2017. Jordan was a prominent critic of Speaker of the House John Boehner, who resigned under Freedom Caucus pressure in 2015.[1][2] He was the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee from 2019 to 2020, when he left to become the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, of which he became chair in 2023.
Jordan is a close ally of former president Donald Trump. During Trump's presidency, Jordan sought to discredit investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election and staged a sit-in to prevent a Trump impeachment inquiry hearing over the Trump–Zelenskyy telephone controversy. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump tried to overturn the election, Jordan supported lawsuits to challenge the election results and voted not to certify the Electoral College results. He refused to cooperate with the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, which subpoenaed him on May 12, 2022.[3][4]
Jordan, who opposed Kevin McCarthy during his failed bid to succeed Boehner as speaker in 2015,[5] later become one of McCarthy's closest allies; Jordan supported McCarthy during the January 2023 Speaker of the House election.[6] After McCarthy was removed as speaker, Jordan stood in the October 2023 election to replace him. He became the second nominee of the House Republican Conference after Steve Scalise withdrew, but failed to win the speakership in three rounds of voting and had his nomination revoked.[7]
Early life and education[edit]
Jordan was born in Troy, Ohio, the son of Shirley and John Jordan, and raised in Champaign County, Ohio.[8] He attended and wrestled for Graham High School, graduating in 1982.[9] He won state championships all four years he was in high school and compiled a 156–1 win–loss record.[10] He then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he became a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion.[11] Jordan won the 1985 and 1986 NCAA championship matches in the 134-pound (61 kg) weight class, defeating future multi time World and Olympic champion John Smith in the former.[12][13] He graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1986.[14] He lost the 126–137-pound (57–62 kg) featherweight semifinal match at the 1988 US Olympic wrestling trials against Smith, failing to qualify for the Olympic team in freestyle wrestling.[15]
Jordan earned a master's degree in education from Ohio State University and received a Juris Doctor degree from the Capital University Law School in 2001.[16][17][18] In a 2018 interview, Jordan said he never took the bar examination.[19]
Personal life[edit]
Jordan and his wife, Polly, live near Urbana, Ohio in central Champaign County. They were introduced by her brothers, with whom Jordan competed in wrestling.[176] Polly and Jordan started dating when he was 13 and she was 14. They have four children and two grandchildren.[177] Jordan's son-in-law, Jarrod Uthoff, is a professional basketball player.[178]