Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), 59, threw his hat into the ring Oct. 4 to House Speaker to replace 58-year-old Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy was forced out by a “motion to vacake” the equivalent of a no-confidence vote by 41-year-old Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.). McCarthy thought that he’d be saved by Democrats with whom he worked to spare the government a disruptive shutdown. But when 53-year-old House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Democrats to vote yea on McCarthy’s ouster, it was all but certain McCarthy would be out [1216-210]. “I talked to the president about this and all kinds of issues,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said, referring to a conversation with 77-year-old former President Donald Trump. Jordan finds himself competing with 57-year-old House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), also announcing his intent to run for the Speaker’s job.

Trump hasn’t yet endorsed anyone for the Speaker’s job, since the vote won’t take place until Wednesday, Oct. 11. Until then, candidates will make their cases at various GOP events, culminating in a vote. Whatever happened with McCarthy, it isn’t likely to happen again, where it took 15 ballots for McCarthy to agree to the final condition that only one House member could bring a “motion to vacate” vote at anytime during his term. Whether that condition persists again, most Republicans think the one-person motion to vacate created the kind of chaos faced by Republicans today. Republicans and Democrats have a lot of work to do before the next possible government shutdown on Nov. 17, so that both sides can agree on a 2024 budget. Republicans think Biden’s profligate spending together on the Ukraine War has driven the worst inflation in over 40 years.

Jordan’s a Trump acolyte to the max, believing the election was stolen from the former president but, more importantly, that no one delivered more prosperity and peace than the former president. Jordan said he had an extensive conversation with Trump but refused to divulge it to the press. “I don’t want to say anything but I had a great conversation with the president,” something that irks the press because they refer to Trump as the former or ex-president. Some anti-Trump Republicans might see Jordan as a Trump lightening rod if he gets the Speaker’s job, preferring someone less controversial like Scalise. But Jordan, who heads the House Judiciary Committee, has been working on 80-year-old President Joe Biden’s impeachment inquiry. Jordan and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) have been building their impeachment case against Bidn.

Picking Jordan would be a big blow to Biden’s Ukraine proxy war, since Jordan, and other Freedom Caucus members, strongly oppose the war. When the Setp. 30 stopgap bill was passed, it did not include more Ukraine funding. Democrats and Republican backers of the war want a separate funding bill to give Biden another $24 billion to continue fighting the Kremlin. Trump said if elected president he would end the war in 24 hours, something Ukraine’s 45-year-old President Voldomyr Zelensky said wouldn’t happen. But with Zelensky begging U.S. elected officials last week f or more cash-and-arms, he knows that without U.S. funding the war would end quickly. Biden and Zelensky refuse any of the many peace plans offered, continuing to war to drive Russian troops from Ukraine. If Jordan becomes House Speaker, Biden would have a strong anti-war voice leading the House.

Opposition to Jordan would come from the anti-Trump coalition inside the GOP. How much influence they wield isn’t entirely clear. Trump’s future plans to win the Republican nomination could end in the near future with his many legal problems due for trial in 2024. One conviction would almost certainly end his 2024 White House bid. Trump’s ouster would open the door for a new candidate like 56-year-old Virginia Gov. Glen Youngkin. Youngkin has been pushed as a possible candidate by 92-year-old Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch. Youngkin could rally the GOP and beat Biden, forcing Democrats to counter with a different candidate. If Youngkin runs, it’s doubtful Democrats would run Biden, given his age and poor approval ratings. Picking Jordan would be a strong endorsement of Trump policies no matter what happens to Trump’s candidacy in the next few months.

Biden’s national security team, including 60-year-old Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 45-year-old National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and 70-year-old Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have all said the Ukraine War was an existential crisis against 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin. All say routinely that without the Ukraine War, Putin would march on Europe, especially former Soviet satellites like Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, possibly Poland or even Sweden and Norway. Biden’s national security team offer no facts to back up their claims about Putin trying to invade Europe. Putin invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, 2022 to counter U.S. weapons supplied to the Kiev government. Zelensky told the U..S Conges and EU that Ukraine defended European democracy. EU officials know that NATO, not bankrupt and war-ravaged Ukraine, defends European democracy against possible threats.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.