US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) reacts on the day of House Republican leadership elections at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, November 10, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
House Republicans handed Jim Jordan the keys to the caucus on Tuesday — and he was immediaely stung by the words of a GOP predecessor.
The Ohio Republican was chosen to take over from departing Speaker Mike Johnson as the House GOP's next leader in the House, a shakeup that comes after Republicans shed more than 40 seats in last week's elections.
But the celebration of Jordan's colleagues collided almost immediately with the on-record verdict of John Boehner, the last Republican speaker from Ohio.
In his 2021 memoir On the House and a companion CBS Sunday Morning interview with John Dickerson, Boehner singled out his fellow Ohioan as a prime example of the "political terrorists" he blamed for the January 6 Capitol riot.
"Jim Jordan especially, my colleague from Ohio," Boehner said. "I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart – never building anything, never putting anything together."
Republicans rallying behind Jordan this week offered a very different read.
"Jim's a fighter," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York told CBS News, pitching the former college wrestling coach as someone who could finally unite the caucus's warring factions.
Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina said Jordan "represented more of what they wanted to see as a minority leader," adding that "there's nobody that can debate any better."
Freedom Caucus chair Andy Harris of Maryland called Jordan a "superb communicator" who could go toe-to-toe with incoming Speaker Hakeem Jeffries.
Jordan's legislative résumé is notably thin for a party leader. He has never been the primary sponsor of a bill that passed the House, CBS News noted.
He also defied a subpoena from the House select committee investigating January 6, a fight that ended with a referral to the House Ethics Committee.
Johnson, who has called Jordan a mentor, suggested the dynamics of minority status would suit his successor.
"It is easier to keep a group together when you're in the minority," Johnson said.
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