After nearly two decades in Congress, Rep. Jim Jordan is moving to the top of House Republican leadership.
House Republicans elected the Ohio congressman as their next minority leader Tuesday, Nov. 10, choosing the longtime Donald Trump ally to lead the party after Democrats won control of the chamber. Jordan defeated Majority Leader Steve Scalise 106-73 in a secret ballot.
“When it comes to leadership, there’s no trait more important than communication,” Jordan told USA TODAY.
Here’s what to know about Jim Jordan, his path to Congress and his rise within the Republican Party.
What did Jim Jordan do before Congress?
Before entering politics, Jordan was a two-time NCAA champion wrestler at the University of Wisconsin
and later worked as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University.
While Jordan was an assistant coach, Richard Strauss served as a team physician. Ohio State launched an investigation in 2018 into allegations that Strauss had sexually abused students during his years at the university.
Several former wrestlers later alleged that Jordan must have known about inappropriate conduct involving Strauss, according to The New York Times. Jordan has denied knowing about sexual abuse. A spokesman told ABC News that Jordan did not see or hear “of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it.”
Jordan was elected to the Ohio House in 1994 and later served in the Ohio Senate before winning election to Congress in 2006.
Jim Jordan’s career in Congress
Jordan took office in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades in the House.
He helped launch the conservative House Freedom Caucus in 2015 and served as its first chairman. The group emerged as a powerful bloc of House conservatives and helped pressure then-Speaker John Boehner before his resignation that year.
Jordan also became one of Trump’s most prominent allies in Congress, defending him during investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
After the 2020 election, Jordan backed efforts to challenge the results and voted against certifying Electoral College votes from Arizona and Pennsylvania.
USA TODAY’s Bart Jansen and Zachary Schermele contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Jim Jordan? What to know about the new GOP leader
