1. Wrestler. Jordan won four state championships as an Ohio high school wrestler and won two NCAA Division 1 championships while at the University of Wisconsin.
2. Education and Family. Jordan earned his bachelor’s degree from Wisconsin, a master’s degree from Ohio State University and a law degree from Capital University. He is married to Polly, and the couple has four children. They live near Urbana.
3. Jordan served in the Ohio General Assembly from 1995 to 2006 before being elected to Congress. As a state lawmaker, he voted in favor of establishing a concealed carry weapons law, prohibiting gay marriage, blocking cities from regulating guns and giving firearms manufacturers immunity from lawsuits related to their products use.
4. Ohio State University. Jordan served as an assistant wrestling coach 1986 to 1994, overlapping with team doctor Richard Strauss, who is now accused of sexually abusing hundreds of male students and athletes. Jordan has said he did not know about the ongoing abuse.
Related: Wrestling ref alleges he told Jim Jordan about sexual predator at OSU
5. In Congress, Jordan has built a conservative voting record, earning a 100 percent score by the American Conservative Union for several years in a row. In 2015, he co-founded The Freedom Caucus — conservative and libertarian Republican House members.
6. Clash with John Boehner. The Freedom Caucus is linked to the resignation of Boehner as House speaker in September 2015. Later, in an interview with Politico, Boehner called Jordan “a terrorist. A legislative terrorist.”
Related: Ex-Speaker John Boehner goes off on Congressman Jim Jordan
7. Gerrymandered district. Jordan represents the 4th Congressional district, which is shaped like a duck with his beak in Lorain County and his feathers near the Indiana state border. It spans 14 counties. Jordan was re-elected in 2018 with 65% of the vote.
Related: Ohio congressional districts will remain until 2022 after Supreme Court ruling
8. Trump. Jordan has emerged as one of the president's most loyal and vocal defenders in Congress. His questioning of Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen during a Congressional hearing led to a Saturday Night Live spoof of Jordan. Minority legislative leaders moved Jordan to the House Intelligence Committee so he could grill witnesses in the impeachment inquiry.
About the Author
