House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will be President Donald Trump’s top defender in Congress next year after winning a closed-door election for minority leader on Tuesday, sources told Fox News Digital.
Jordan defeated Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., currently the House of Representatives’ No. 2 leader, in what’s believed to be a narrow race. Jordan received 106 votes to Scalise’s 73, sources in the room told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital heard loud, sustained applause from outside in the hallway when Jordan’s win became official.
Republicans huddled for a candidate forum on Tuesday morning where all GOP lawmakers running for leadership positions were peppered with questions by their colleagues.
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Sources inside the room for their Tuesday morning leadership forum said Scalise and Jordan both pitched themselves as the best person to unify the conference, but also signaled they would give a wide berth for lawmakers to “vote their districts,” as one person put it.
The question-and-answer session for House Republicans before electing their leader was largely cordial, Fox News Digital was told. Several people inquired about how both prospective leaders would unify the conference after their midterm losses and how they would handle leaks to journalists, Fox News Digital was told.
Jordan himself told Fox News Digital he believed the forum went well but declined to go further, stating he does not divulge details of closed-door meetings.
The voting body consisted of incumbent House Republicans and GOP members-elect who are projected to win their races from last week’s midterms. Votes were cast via secret ballot, meaning none of those in the room had to reveal who they chose.
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And the results on Tuesday show the House GOP was hungry for change. Jordan’s victory comes fresh off the back of a historic loss for Republicans across both state and federal races.
The magnitude of the losses forced Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to announce he was stepping aside and not seeking another leadership position for the next two years.
“I personally like Steve, but he’s been in leadership since before I was in Congress. And Jim Jordan, while he’s a leader in Congress, he hasn’t been part of the leadership team. He basically rose through the ranks because he was super effective,” Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., another Jordan ally, told Fox News Digital the Ohio Republican “understands what we’re up against,” adding, “His ability to communicate is really kind of unrivaled by anybody else in the House right now.”
Jordan has long been among the House GOP’s brightest stars, rapidly gaining influence over the last decade as one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in Washington.
He will now be the go-to defender as Democrats ready a barrage of investigations targeting Trump’s Cabinet, family and business interests.