Jim Jordan Is Running For House Speaker In Spite Of Allegations He Ignored Sexual Abuse
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks next to Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., left, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., during a news conference with members of the Freedom Caucus where they called for a second prosecutor to investigate the Dept. of Justice and FBI, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has announced that he is running to replace Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan (R) as Speaker of the House.
EXCLUSIVE: Freedom Caucus leader @Jim_Jordan sends “Dear Colleague” letter telling members he plans to run for Speaker of the House in November pic.twitter.com/gA0W3o5OwJ
— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) July 26, 2018
Speaker Ryan did not endorse him.
.@SpeakerRyan on Jim Jordan running for Speaker of the House: “I’m not going to be here. I support Kevin McCarthy, everybody knows that.”
Full video here: https://t.co/VfBrKwwbo0 pic.twitter.com/A420sVDV4y
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 26, 2018
Jordan, and 10 other House Republicans, are currently pushing to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (which Speaker Ryan has said he doesn’t support).
This comes as Jordan is facing allegations that he was aware of the sexual abuse of multiple Ohio State University (OSU) wrestlers, and did nothing. There have been at least eight ex-OSU wrestlers who have come forward—including UFC fighter star Mark Coleman—alleging that then-Assistant Coach Jordan was directly made aware of the allegations that medical doctor Richard Strauss was sexually abusing wrestlers, and ignored their reports of abuse. Important to note that former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert admitted (after he left office) to molesting wrestlers that he coached.
In spite of these allegations, Speaker Ryan, the Freedom Caucus, and a number of conservative groups have stood by Rep. Jim Jordan.
As The Washington Post reported, this bid for Speaker is a long-shot.
