Ohio Republican Jim Jordan launches bid for House speaker

Rep. Jim Jordan wants to get his hands on that gavel.

The conservative Ohio Republican launched a bid for House speaker Thursday, with a plan to implore his colleagues via a letter to support his candidacy. "I plan to run for speaker of the House to bring real change," Jordan said. The Daily Caller first reported Jordan's plan to pursue the top House spot, noting that Jordan "has received an onslaught of support from conservative groups and his colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus to run for speaker."

A member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, Jordan also sits on the House Judiciary and Oversight committees and holds a chairmanship of an Oversight subcommittee. Late Wednesday, he joined with Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) to introduce articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Earlier this month, Jordan became embroiled in a scandal stemming back to his days as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University, as several former athletes have claimed that sexual abuse was rampant within the program — and that Jordan knew about it and failed to act. Jordan has denied that he was aware of any sexually inappropriate conduct at Ohio State.

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Jordan's candidacy sets up a showdown between himself and California Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R), the House majority leader, who made it known Wednesday that he would like to be the next House speaker. The men are vying to replace House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who announced earlier this year that he would not run for re-election and would leave Congress at the end of his term. Ryan reaffirmed Thursday that he supports McCarthy as his successor.