There’s no shortage of reasons why Gym Jordan is frequently described as Congress’ worst member. From his Ohio State scandal to his conspiracy theories, from his failed and pointless investigations to the fact that he’s quite literally never passed a bill despite having been on Capitol Hill for nearly 20 years, from his total indifference toward governing to his obsessive appearances on Fox News, Jordan is a uniquely odious political figure.
He was nevertheless easily elected by House Republicans to serve as the next House minority leader.
To appreciate why this is such a dramatic mistake, consider Jordan’s record related to Jan. 6.
Around this time five years ago, The New York Times reported that the far-right congressman attended crisis meetings at Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters as early as Nov. 9, 2020, just two days after Joe Biden became president-elect. The Times separately reported that Jordan also participated in a meeting at the White House in late December 2020, at which he plotted with the defeated Republican president on how best to challenge the election results.
Soon after, on Jan. 5, Jordan forwarded a message to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, describing a scheme in which then-Vice President Mike Pence could help reject election results Republicans didn’t like.
Former House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney summarized matters succinctly: “Jim Jordan knew more about what Donald Trump had planned for Jan. 6 than any other member of the House of Representatives.”
Making Jordan minority leader is a “mistake” if you care about things like “good government” or “minimal human decency.” If the idea is to represent the degenerate state of the House Republican conference, though, he’s a perfect fit.