Jim Jordan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jim Jordan
Official portrait, 2015
Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Jerry Nadler
Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee
In office March 12, 2020 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Doug Collins
Succeeded by	Jerry Nadler
Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee
In office March 31, 2020 – June 29, 2020
Preceded by	Mark Meadows
Succeeded by	James Comer
In office January 3, 2019 – March 12, 2020
Preceded by	Elijah Cummings
Succeeded by	Mark Meadows
Chair of the House Freedom Caucus
In office October 1, 2015 – January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Mark Meadows
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Mike Oxley
Member of the Ohio Senate from the 12th district
In office January 3, 2001 – December 31, 2006
Preceded by	Robert R. Cupp
Succeeded by	Keith Faber
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 85th district
In office January 3, 1995 – December 31, 2000
Preceded by	Jim Davis
Succeeded by	Derrick Seaver
Personal details
Born	James Daniel Jordan (1964-02-17) February 17, 1964 (age 60) Troy, Ohio, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Polly Jordan ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	4
Education	University of Wisconsin–Madison (BS) Ohio State University (MA) Capital University Law School (JD)
Awards	Presidential Medal of Freedom (2021)

James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for OH's 4th congressional district since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, Jordan is a former collegiate wrestler and college wrestling coach.

Early life and education

Jordan was born in Troy, Ohio and raised in Champaign County, Ohio, the son of Shirley and John Jordan. He attended and wrestled for Graham High School, graduating in 1982. He won state championships all four years he was in high school and compiled a 156–1 win–loss record. He then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he became a two-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion. Jordan won the 1985 and 1986 NCAA championship matches in the 134-pound (61 kg) weight class. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics in 1986. He lost the 126–137-pound (57–62 kg) featherweight semifinal match at the 1988 US Olympic wrestling trials, failing to qualify for the Olympic team in freestyle wrestling.

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 a 2018 interview, Jordan said he never took the bar examination.

Early career

Jordan was an assistant coach with Ohio State University's wrestling program from 1987 to 1995.

He was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in November 1994 and represented the 85th Ohio House district for three terms.

In 2000, Jordan was elected to the Ohio Senate over independent candidate Jack Kaffenberger with 88% of the vote. In 2004, Jordan defeated Kaffenberger again, with 79% of the vote.

U.S. House of Representatives

Jim Jordan with Vice President Mike Pence

Jordan chaired the Republican Study Committee during the 112th Congress, while turning down a position on the Appropriations Committee. During the U.S. government shutdown of 2013, he was considered the committee's most powerful member. That group was the primary proponent and executor of the Republican congressional strategy to bring about a government shutdown in order to force changes in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Jordan is a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, serving as its first chair from 2015 to 2017, and as its vice chair since 2017. He was the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee from 2019 to 2020. He vacated that position 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. 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.

Legislation

In March 2017, Jordan criticized the newly introduced American Health Care Act, the Republican replacement bill for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, calling it an unacceptable form of "Obamacare Lite". On May 4, 2017, he voted to pass a revised version of the legislation.

Jordan and Representative Warren Davidson were the only members of Ohio's congressional delegation and two of 60 members of Congress to vote in October 2019 against a bipartisan resolution that passed the House 354–60 condemning Trump's unilateral withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Syria.

Speaker elections

After the House removed McCarthy from the speakership on October 3, 2023, Jordan launched a bid for the speakership. His speakership bid has been endorsed by Donald Trump.

Jordan failed to win the speakership in three rounds of voting, after which he was removed as the nominee.

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Judiciary (chairman)
  • Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government (chairman)
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Health Care, Benefits, and Administrative Rules
  • Subcommittee on Government Operations
  • Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
• House Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi (2014–2016)
• Committee on Intelligence (temporary)

Caucus memberships

• Freedom Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus
• Congressional Western Caucus
• U.S.-Japan Caucus
• Campus Free Speech Caucus

Political positions

Jordan speaking at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference.

According to The Dayton Daily News, Jordan "is known for being one of Congress' most conservative members".

Disinformation research

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan is heading a legal campaign against researchers at universities, think tanks and private companies that study disinformation. Those affected include the Stanford Internet Observatory at Stanford University, the University of Washington, the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab and the social media analytics firm Graphika. Since January 2023, when Republican gained a majority in the House, the House Judiciary Committee has sent letters, subpoenas, and threats of legal action to researchers, demanding notes, emails and other records from researchers and even student interns, dating back to 2015. Projects affected include the Election Integrity Partnership, formed to identify attempts "to suppress voting, reduce participation, confuse voters or delegitimize election results without evidence" and the Virality Project, which has examined the spread of false claims about vaccines. Jordan claims that such organizations worked with the government to censor conservative speech online. Although research groups may have reported problematic content, "no evidence has emerged that government officials coerced the companies to take action against accounts". Researchers argue that they have academic freedom to study social media and disinformation as well as freedom of speech to report their results.

Health care

Jordan opposes the Affordable Care Act, calling for it to be repealed. He opposes vaccine requirements, describing them as "un-American".

Environment

In July 2008, Jordan was the first member of Congress to sign the "No Climate Tax" pledge drafted by the conservative political advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.

In Congress, Jordan voted to open the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling, prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, and bar greenhouse gases from Clean Air Act rules. He voted against enforcing limits on carbon dioxide global warming pollution, tax credits for renewable electricity, tax incentives for renewable energy and energy conservation, and curtailing subsidies for oil and gas company exploration.

Antitrust and tech policy

Jordan has critiqued "Big Tech" companies, though he opposes proposals to break up these companies through antitrust enforcement.

Google has contributed money to his political campaign since 2012, including $10,000 in 2020. Tucker Carlson criticized Jordan for accepting donations from Google.

In 2023, Jordan refused to make Ken Buck the chairman of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, despite Buck being the senior most republican on the committee and a proponent of antirust enforcement. Conservatives criticized Jordan for this decision.

Taxes

While serving in the Ohio Senate, Jordan supported the Tax and Expenditure Limitation Amendment, a state constitutional amendment that would require a vote of the people to raise taxes or increase spending over certain limits.

Foreign policy

Jordan was among 60 Republicans to oppose condemning Trump's action of withdrawing forces from Syria. According to The American Conservative, along with Matt Gaetz and a handful of Republicans, he broke with the party and voted to end Saudi assistance to the war in Yemen.

In June 2021, Jordan was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.

In 2023, Jordan was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

LGBT rights

In 2015, Jordan cosponsored a resolution to amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Jordan condemned the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the Constitution.

Personal life

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. Polly and Jordan started dating when he was 13 and she was 14. They have four children and two grandchildren. Jordan's son-in-law, Jarrod Uthoff, is a professional basketball player.

See also

In Spanish: Jim Jordan (político) para niños