Freedom Caucus leaders Representatives Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosestein yesterday evening and, not coincidentally, Jim Jordan formally announced this morning that he's running to be the next speaker of the House.
Now, the next speaker of the House may not even be a Republican, but that's beside the point.
Just like any other member of the Republican party that Jim Jordan would ordinarily malign as part of the dreaded "establishment" or, even worse, a "moderate," he's a ladder climber. We can interpret virtually everything he's done, from attacking special prosecutor Robert Mueller to trying to impeach Rod Rosenstein, as a pitch for Trump's support.
To make that crystal clear, Jim Jordan's opening pitch to be the next speaker praises Trump in a manner that no one but Trump himself truly believes.
“In November 2016, voters resoundingly rejected the status quo in Washington by electing an out-of-the-box Republican to drain the swamp and change how this town works,” Jordan wrote, neglecting to mention that Trump lost the popular vote by 2.8 million ballots.
“So far, President Trump has made them proud,” Jordan continued, also apparently forgetting about the massive amounts of grift in Trump’s Cabinet and the fact that really no aspect of Washington has changed.
The plot to impeach Rod Rosenstein has virtually no chance of actually happening or succeeding as Republicans will already be heading to the airport for a month of vacation by the time you read this, but Rep. Jim Jordan knows that. That's not the point.
The articles of impeachment, the blustery committee performances, and the relentless self-owns are all an attempt to ingratiate himself with Trump. He wants to be the speaker or, at the very least, the next minority leader.
I bet we'll even see Jim Jordan run for president in 2024.