Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, is already planning investigations he aims to launch if the GOP retakes power in the House during the 2022 midterms and he becomes chair of the House Judiciary Committee next year.
Jordan, a close ally of former President Donald Trump, has been a staunch critic of President Joe Biden and his administration. The Ohio Republican currently serves as the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. If the GOP retakes control of the House, as many analysts expect the party to do, Jordan would be seen as the most likely lawmaker to chair the legislative chamber's judiciary committee.
During a Thursday episode of The Truth with Lisa Boothe podcast, Jordan laid out a list of investigations he aims to launch if Republicans take back the majority.
"The top three are the DOJ, what they're doing to parents. I mean, the idea that we had this whistleblower come forward and tell us that there was an email sent out and talked about this threat tagged designation is a label put on moms and dads and what's happening there. So that's priority number one," the GOP lawmaker said.
Jordan said that "priority number two, and equally as important, is the chaos that is now our southern border and has been that way for a year ever since Biden took office."
"The third is one we're just talking about. We will do a joint investigation with the Oversight Committee. And I would like to do it in conjunction with Senator Paul [of Kentucky] and Senator Johnson [of Wisconsin] on the origins of this [COVID-19 pandemic], Fauci and all the other things," the Republican congressman added.
In October 2021, the FBI created a "threat tag" to help the federal agency better track threats and harassment targeting school administrators, teachers and staff. Some Republicans have alleged that the FBI is tracking and monitoring the parents of school children, but the Justice Department maintains that it is only probing threats of violence and harassment.
As Jordan noted, border issues have plagued the Biden administration. U.S. authorities apprehended some 1.7 million migrants along the southern border with Mexico in the 2021 fiscal year, which ended last September, The Washington Post reported in October. That was an all-time record high.
Meanwhile, Republicans appear well-positioned to take back control of the House in the midterm elections later this year. Recent historical precedent has shown that the political party of the president in the White House usually loses a significant number of congressional seats in the midterms. As Democrats only hold the House and Senate by the narrowest of margins, even just a few seats flipping could lead to the GOP retaking power.
Biden remains unpopular with the American public as well, according to consistent polling results. Democrats also fared poorly in the 2021 elections, losing control of the governor's mansion and legislature in Virginia. The party's gubernatorial incumbent in New Jersey nearly failed to win reelection.
While Jordan would be in line to take over as chair of the House Judiciary Committee if Republicans regain the majority, many have speculated that he could challenge House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, to become Speaker of the House. Jordan did seek the speakership in 2018 but did not garner the necessary support.
Since then, McCarthy has struggled to manage tensions between pro-Trump and anti-Trump Republicans within the House GOP Conference. McCarthy has faced backlash from both camps, although he has largely aligned with pro-Trump lawmakers and has maintained a positive relationship with the former president. Meanwhile, some analysts have also speculated that Trump could become House Speaker if Republicans regain the majority.
Jordan has faced substantial criticism from some Republicans and many Democrats due to his loyalty to Trump. The Ohio Republican helped promote misinformation about the 2020 election results. He also forwarded a text message to Trump's former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows laying out an unconstitutional strategy to help the former president remain in office. After that text message became public last month, some described Jordan as a "traitor."
"Look, Jim Jordan is a traitor. He's a traitor to the Constitution of the United States. He has been a traitor to the Constitution of the United States for quite a while, and now we actually have it in text," Representative Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, said.
Newsweek reached out to Jordan's spokesperson for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
