The newly elected House minority leader, Jim Jordan of Ohio, is a political ally of the Christian nationalist movement. He has helped advance Christian nationalist priorities within the Republican Party and has been recognized for doing so.
Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger has described Jordan as a Christian nationalist who sees himself as fighting dark forces and, in some instances, regards the Constitution as an impediment to that struggle.
In a 2023 interview, Kinzinger said: “The thing that you need to understand about Jim Jordan is he is a true believer, but he truly believes that the Democrats, or the left, is an enemy of America and he will do anything even extra constitutionally to defeat them. That is his genuine belief.”
He also said: “I would put him in the camp of Christian nationalist where he believes that he is truly fighting the dark forces and the Constitution in some cases is an impediment. It is very dangerous for this country, very dangerous for the House.”
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) is followed by reporters after leaving an hours-long House Republican members meeting at the U.S. Capitol October 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. The GOP members considered empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-RC) but Jordan says he will now continue to seek a third vote to become Speaker of the House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
In 2023, when Jordan previously ran for House speaker, the American Family Association urged its members top lobby for him.
“Jordan is a constitutionalist, a man of integrity, and a founder of the House Freedom Caucus — the band of conservative members of Congress dedicated to fighting for liberty,” said AFA Action.
Jordan has won multiple “True Blue” awards from Family Research Council Action, the political advocacy arm of the Family Research Council, founded by James Dobson. He’s been recognized by Christian Coalition of Ohio and Ohio Right to Life, among others.
The Freedom from Religion Foundation issued a warning about him in 2023.
On Good Friday 2020, Jordan tweeted: “The old hymn says it best: Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.”
On Feb. 5, 2021, in response to the COVID pandemic, he tweeted: “Democrats: Closed your church — Closed your businesses — Closed your kid’s school.”
A 2023 piece in Salon called Jordan “a proud bully who does not care about legislation.”
A 2023 piece in Salon called Jordan “a proud bully who does not care about legislation, only tearing down Democrats through any means necessary. Jordan’s rise to this be even a plausible speaker isn’t just another piece of proof that the GOP has been taken over by Christian nationalists. It also tells us quite a bit about what Christian nationalism is — and how, despite the name, it has little to do with sincere belief in God or in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
“Because so many conservatives chatter incessantly about prayer, the Bible and Jesus, there’s a tendency in the Beltway press to treat religion as the foundation that all other right-wing beliefs are built on. But that reading is backward. In reality, faith is the window dressing draped around an ideology of hate, meant to pretty up an ugly worldview.”
Jordan is best known in Washington as a bulldog, a bully, a clown, a hardliner, a defender of Donald Trump and a person impossible to reason with.
When the Supreme Court approved marriage equality in 2015, Jordan issued a release saying: “I am also concerned that this ruling opens the door for discrimination against those who believe in traditional marriage.”
He’s also been accused of covering up or looking the way amid sexual abuse at Ohio State University when he was a wrestling coach there.
Rolling Stone wrote: “Why Jim Jordan denies knowledge of sexual abuse at Ohio State: The Ohio Congressman and former wrestling coach is more concerned with protecting his macho image than the well-being of his former athletes.”
America’s Voice, an immigrant-rights advocacy organization, has accused Jordan of promoting the “Great Replacement Theory,” a conspiracy rooted in white nationalist and antisemitic ideology.
While current Republican House leader and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has direct ties to the theological side of Christian nationalism, Jordan’s ties are political. Jordan attends Grace Bible Church near Urbana, Ohio.
What’s most dangerous about Jordan — besides his spreading conspiracy theories and demeaning people he disagrees with — is what he symbolizes to the Christian nationalist movement. Unlike Johnson, he’s not wed to the theology of the movement, but his politics encompass the full scope of it.
Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global.