Rep. Jim Jordan chosen as top Republican on House Judiciary Committee

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has been selected as the next ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee by the House Republican steering committee, a GOP source tells CNN.

Jordan, a fierce defender of President Donald Trump, will replace Rep. Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican who is running for the Senate in a primary against Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

While the full Republican conference still needs to approve Jordan for the position, the panel usually supports the steering committee’s recommendation.

Currently the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, Jordan’s new post will thrust him into center of the GOP’s pushback against a wave of Democratic oversight efforts. A leadership role on the committee is highly coveted because of its wide jurisdiction over US law enforcement, from civil rights and impeachment of federal officials to sexual harassment protections.

Jordan had run to be the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee in 2018 but dropped the bid after a spokesman from his office told CNN it was made clear to Jordan that the leadership would be selecting someone else for the job.

News of Jordan’s selection comes just one day after Trump’s impeachment acquittal. Jordan was one of several House GOP members to be added to Trump’s Senate impeachment defense team.

Even among the President’s most vocal defenders, Jordan has distinguished himself as a particularly fierce ally whose media appearances often result in contentious exchanges.

During the first hearing with public testimony in the House impeachment investigation, Jordan lambasted Democrats, calling it “a sad day for this country.”

“You think about what the Democrats have put our nation through for the last three years,” he said, adding that “the American people see through all of this.”

“They understand the facts support the President. They understand this process is unfair and they see through the whole darn sham.”