The collapse of Rep. Jordan’s bid to become the next Speaker of the House laid bare an intense civil war within the Republican Party. Jordan, a prominent conservative with ties to the far-right Freedom Caucus, had been seen as a favorite to lead the House in the next Congress amid Republican infighting.
However, his failed campaign was ultimately derailed by a lack of support from Republican leadership, and by reports that he had failed to address reports of rampant sexual abuse within the Ohio State wrestling program when he was an assistant coach. This divided the party between those who backed Jordan and those who found his involvement with the scandal too tainted to support.
Jordan’s defeat showed that the Republican party is now more divided than ever between traditional establishment figures and hardcore conservatives. The party’s future will depend largely on how these two sides will reconcile tensions between them in order to craft a unified agenda moving forward.
