Jim Jordan is having a 'rough time' as his House committee hearings flop: analyst
Rep. Jim Jordan's brief tenure as the House Judiciary Committee chairman is not living up to the expectations of his conservative admirers as the Ohio Republican's much-heralded committee hearings going after a "weaponized" Department of Justice have failed to hit his intended targets in any meaningful way.
In a column for the New Republic, longtime political observer Jason Linkins suggested that Jordan's star is dimming and that he is having a "rough time" coming up with the goods after making so many promises.
As Linkins wrote, the controversial lawmaker from Ohio has run two sets of hearings: one based on testimony from FBI whistleblowers who are not actually whistleblowers and one about the so-called "Twitter files" from journalists whose testimony fell apart under questioning.
Based upon that, Linkins wrote, it appears that the newly installed House Judiciary chair appears to have bit off more than he can chew.
"Representative Jim Jordan rarely makes a public appearance in which he does not look psychically frustrated on some deep level, but he has been having—for his standards—a rough time of late," he wrote. "You see, the Ohio Republican is currently pulling double duty as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and heading up his other brainchild: the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, a weird star chamber in which the many tangled strands of the Fox News Extended Universe are expected to get a congressional hearing now that the GOP controls the House."
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Noting that Jordan's hearings have failed to make a dent, Linkins pointed to a New York Times report that stated the Ohio Republican's efforts so far , "... raises questions about whether Republicans will be able to deliver on their ambitious plans to uncover misdeeds at the highest levels.”
As evidence, Linkins submits comments made by Fox News host Jesse Watters who expressed his dismay on-air by complaining, "Make me feel better, guys. Tell me this is going somewhere. Can I throw someone in prison? Can someone go to jail? Can someone get fined?”
According to the analyst, "Jordan has mustered little to counter these charges besides bragging about how his panel has sent out more subpoenas and letters than any other committee. It’s an old Beltway song and dance: pretending that activity constitutes achievement."
He then added, "Without any substantive project to which the GOP might anchor itself, the party has instead become the party of off-putting weirdness. Instead of writing laws, they write lore—a constantly updating canon of bewildering grievances and spectral enemies."
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