Jim Jordan just made a major decision about his future on Capitol Hill.

The Ohio Republican confirmed that he will give up the House Judiciary Committee gavel after this Congress rather than seek a waiver from GOP term limits.

And despite having time left under the rules to lead another powerful panel, Jordan says he has no plans to return to the House Oversight Committee either.

The fresh report puts Jordan’s answer on the record as Washington starts asking what comes next.

Jordan has led Republicans on Judiciary since March 2020, first as ranking member and then as chairman after the GOP retook the House in January 2023.

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That put him at the center of some of the biggest fights in Washington: the weaponization of federal law enforcement, censorship, immigration, the Biden family investigations, and oversight of the Justice Department.

But House Republican rules generally limit committee leaders to three terms. Jordan could ask the Steering Committee for a waiver, as some other chairmen are expected to do, but he says he will not.

The Gateway Pundit reports that Jordan rejected the idea of returning to Oversight, where he served as the top Republican from 2019 until moving over to Judiciary. He said other lawmakers are very interested in that post.

Jordan is eligible to serve at least two more terms as the chairman or ranking Republican on Oversight, so this is a choice rather than another term-limit problem.

He also said he simply wants to help Republicans win and brushed aside questions about seeking a different leadership role. His decision opens two major committee succession fights at once.

When asked directly about challenging Speaker Mike Johnson if the GOP keeps the House, Jordan said no and repeated that his focus is winning the majority.

Watch the interview:

The Judiciary race began moving almost immediately. Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida announced that she will seek the top Republican spot on the committee, and she is already making the case for the panel’s next chapter.

Lee is a former Florida secretary of state and former judge. She has served on Judiciary during Jordan’s chairmanship and now becomes the first declared contender for the gavel.

She may not be alone for long.

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Reporting from Capitol Hill says Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin are also interested in the role, setting up what could become a serious internal contest after the midterm elections.

The sudden opening has also triggered a new round of questions about Jordan’s next move.

The Washington Examiner adds that Jordan is still campaigning for an eleventh House term. When asked whether he could remain in Congress without a committee chairmanship or leadership title, he pointed to his reelection effort rather than signaling retirement.

Jordan also knocked down immediate speculation about another run for speaker. He said his attention is on keeping the Republican majority, not challenging Speaker Mike Johnson.

That leaves one of the House’s most consequential gavels up for grabs while Jordan remains a major voice inside the Republican conference.

Whoever succeeds him will inherit a committee with jurisdiction over the Justice Department, federal courts, immigration law, constitutional questions, and many of the investigations that have defined the battle between President Trump’s agenda and the permanent Washington bureaucracy.

Jordan is still running for Congress. After years as one of the House GOP’s most aggressive investigators, however, he is making clear that the next Congress will bring a new chairman to Judiciary — and that the Oversight gavel will go to somebody else.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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