Any hope Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) may have about his future in the House will hinge in large part on the far-right Freedom Caucus, which has lost faith in him at a time there are rumors he is positioning himself to climb the leadership ladder.
For the Ohio Republican, the Freedom Caucus has an easy path to kill his dreams in much the same way former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) not only lost his battle, but eventually walked away from his seat.
According to NOTUS's Reese Gorman, Jordan has undergone a dramatic transformation from the controversial bomb-thrower who made him a national political figure.
"Jim completely changed his tack," said one senior Republican who opposed Jordan for speaker in 2023. "He knew that for any chance for him to ascend to a top leadership role, or any leadership role for that matter, he was going to have to shed the wrestler Jim and become a little bit more congenial, workable, friendly and civil."
Freedom Caucus members are disgusted by what they view as capitulation.
"Some of his angling is frustrating to some on the right," one Freedom Caucus member told NOTUS. Another was blunter: "Jordan has become milquetoast."
The criticism goes beyond tone. "It's disappointing to have watched him water himself down and not take up any kind of real fights. The FISA bill is a perfect example," this member said. "That's not the Jim Jordan that a lot of people remember. He's basically watering himself down, changing his views, in order to move himself in the middle. I hope that this is just a temporary thing, but he's not the fighter that he once was."
But there's a deeper problem: unhealed wounds. During his previous speaker bid, Jordan's outside supporters inundated members and their families with threats and harassing text messages — a campaign of intimidation that hasn't been forgotten.
Jordan condemned the harassment on multiple occasions, saying "no American should accost another for their beliefs" and that it was "just wrong." But his words couldn't erase the menacing outreach members' families received.
The arithmetic for Jordan's future is grim. If Republicans win back the majority, he's the obvious choice for promotion — and an obvious speaker candidate. But "there's still a significant subset of members who don't want to see him with the gavel."
"When you flip and you win the majority, he gets promoted, and then he becomes a speaker candidate," one member said. "I personally don't like the thought of him being a speaker."