Representative Jim Jordan on Tuesday to lead their House conference when the party enters the minority next year, bringing renewed attention to allegations from 2018 that Jordan knew about sexual misconduct by Ohio State University team doctor Richard Strauss while the GOP lawmaker served as assistant wrestling coach. An independent university-commissioned investigation found Strauss sexually abused at least 177 male student-athletes and other students during his years at the school. Jordan has consistently denied knowing of sexual abuse while he coached at Ohio State.
His spokesman at the time, Russell Dye, said in 2025 that "Jordan never saw or heard of any abuse, and if he had, he would have dealt with it." Jordan, 62, defeated Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise in a 106-73 secret ballot among House Republicans on Tuesday. His victory follows Republicans' loss of more than 40 House seats in the midterms and House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to step aside from party leadership. The Ohio Republican, co-founder and former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, pitched colleagues on his experience confronting Democrats through congressional investigations and hearings.
"I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," Jordan said as he sought the job. He will take charge of a diminished Republican conference as Democrats assume control of the House, while allegations surrounding his years at Ohio State continue following him decades after he left coaching. Newsweek reached out to Jordan's office for comment.
House Republicans selected Jordan as their next leader on Tuesday, after the party lost control of the chamber in the November 3 midterm elections. He defeated Scalise, the current House majority leader, 106-73 in the closed-door conference election. Jordan is set to lead House Republicans in the 120th Congress when Democrats take control in January.
The change represents a major promotion for Jordan, who has chaired the House Judiciary Committee since Republicans took the majority in 2023. He previously unsuccessfully sought the Republican leadership in 2018 and the House speakership following Kevin McCarthy's removal in 2023. This time, he needed only the support of a majority of his Republican colleagues rather than the full House vote required to become speaker.
As minority leader, Jordan will become the most prominent House Republican and face the task of rebuilding a conference battered by the 2026 elections. He has signaled that Republicans cannot limit themselves to responding to Democratic investigations, telling his colleagues that "offense, not defense, wins elections." Jordan has represented Ohio in the U.S. House since January 2007.
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