WASHINGTON -- House Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina were designated the ranking Republicans on the Judiciary and Oversight committees respectively by House GOP members Tuesday.
The two committees will be main venues for Democratic post-impeachment probes of the president.
Former GOP Rep. Dennis Ross, who served in Congress from 2011 through 2019, said Jordan and Meadows will be in a position to throw sand in the gears of Democratic plans and serve as the White House's eyes and ears amid any investigation. "Politically, this is a good thing for the president," Ross, now director of the American Center for Political Leadership at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla, said.
Jordan was temporarily placed on the Intelligence Committee during public impeachment hearings. During the Senate trial, both were designated by Trump to serve as defense advisers and public surrogates.
"I'm going to go fight for the things I think are important to the folks I represent, important to the conference, important to Republican and important to Americans," Jordan said.
Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney and Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, both New York Democrats, have said there would be no letup in scrutiny of Trump and his administration despite his acquittal last week in the Senate impeachment trial.
No specific investigations have been announced.
House Democrats also plan to keep a focus on Trump's conduct in dealing with Ukraine, and Nadler hasn't ruled out trying to subpoena former National Security Adviser John Bolton and other witnesses who were blocked by Trump from testifying during the impeachment inquiry. There also are multiple court cases running on separate tracks seeking access to the president's tax returns, testimony from former White House officials and financial records.
In a move made with the blessing of House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, Jordan will be leaving the top GOP spot on the Oversight Committee to serve on the Judiciary, replacing Rep. Doug Collins who is stepping down in March to run for Senate in Georgia. Meadows, who isn't seeking reelection in November, will replace Jordan as ranking Republican on Oversight.
"It's an important job, and I appreciated that Kevin and the steering committee has given it a thumbs up," Jordan said.
Meadows was with Trump at a rally in New Hampshire on Monday and didn't respond to a request for comment.
Most Democrats declined Monday to comment on the committee changes, including both Nadler and Maloney, through their spokesmen. Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, said Republicans have been playing defense for Trump since he took office.
"So it's nothing new," Himes said. "It's obviously inconsistent with the role of Congress. We're supposed to do oversight."
As members of the minority party in the House, Jordan and Meadows can't stop Nadler and Maloney from issuing committee subpoenas or initiating investigations and hearings. But they can make their own subpoena requests.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, has said he would hold hearings on Hunter Biden's work on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. Separately, GOP Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Finance Committee, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, have asked the U.S. Secret Service to provide records of Hunter Biden's travel when his father, Joe Biden, was vice president.
Information for this article was contributed by Emily Wilkins of The Washington Post.
A Section on 02/12/2020