Jim Jordan to run for House speaker

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• Republican Rep. Jim Jordan will announce a bid to
  succeed Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House on Thursday.
• Ryan has already endorsed House Majority Leader Kevin
  McCarthy to take his place.
• Jordan has been dealing with a scandal surrounding
  allegations he looked the other way on a pattern of sexual
  misconduct by a doctor during his time as wrestling coach at
  Ohio State University.

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WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, a founding member of the
ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus, will attempt a long-shot
bid to succeed Paul Ryan as the next speaker of the House on
Thursday.

“Should the American people entrust us with the majority again in
the 116th Congress, I plan to run for Speaker of the House to
bring real change to the House of Representatives,” Jordan said
in a statement. “President Trump has taken bold action on behalf
of the American people. Congress has not held up its end of the
deal, but we can change that. It’s time to do what we said.”

In addition, Jordan sent a letter to the Republican conference on
Thursday announcing the bid, which would not be voted on until
the new Congress convenes in 2019.

Current House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is retiring at the end of
the year, said on Thursday in his weekly press conference that he
supports House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, despite the fact
he will not be in the next Congress.

“I’m not going to be here,” Ryan told reporters. “I support
Kevin McCarthy, everybody knows that.”

Jordan has been the subject of a scandal in the past month.
An
NBC News report detailed testimonies from former athletes at
Ohio State University where Jordan was a wrestling coach who
alleged that he looked the other way at sexual assaults by a
university doctor.

Jordan has denied any knowledge of the assaults and his
Republican colleagues have rallied around him in support of the
conservative lawmaker.