Last week in the House, as the impeachment faceplant faded into the background and yet another looming budget crisis approached, I reached out to one of the few Republican congressmen who serves as a link between the old order of Kevin McCarthy, the embodiment of the Trump-era G.O.P. establishment, and the new MAGA contingent: Jim Jordan.
As a founder of the Tea Party and the Freedom Caucus, both of which were ideological precursors to the MAGA movement, Jordan baffled his allies when he declined to run against McCarthy for speaker of the House. He tried again, with Trump’s blessing, when McCarthy was ousted, but dropped his bid after a secret ballot suggested he didn’t have the votes. Nevertheless, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, he has proven to be one of the few senior members of the House G.O.P. who walks the line between exercising power and exuding populism.
