U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks while standing with Republican members of Congress on Jan. 3 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Joining Johnson were front row from left, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, House Homeland Security Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich.
Eric Gay | AP
A carefully brokered bipartisan Senate border compromise would be dead-on-arrival in the House — and would draw the opposition of Speaker Mike Johnson, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said.
Jordan said Sunday in an interview with Bloomberg Television that he was confident that Johnson — who is under intense pressure from conservatives to reject the plan — would oppose the Senate proposal.
“We’ve got to see the plan, but based on what’s leaked out thus far, there’s no way I’m going to go for that. There’s no way Speaker Johnson’s going to go for that,” said Jordan, R-Urbana, whose district includes Lima.
Johnson on Saturday posted to the social media platform X an image of a Fox News graphic that claimed to detail elements of the Senate deal, writing “absolutely not.” Conservatives have said they will refuse to fund the government without strong new controls at the U.S.-Mexico border, with some suggesting they could even seek to oust Johnson as speaker if he doesn’t heed their demands. Hard-line Republicans ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October for dealmaking with Democrats.
Lawmakers are laying the groundwork for a possible stopgap funding deal that would keep the government running into March, averting a shutdown as federal funding starts to expire Jan. 19 and giving negotiators more time to hammer out a border proposal.
House Republicans will hold a conference call Sunday night to discuss the border concerns and a path forward on spending, Jordan said.
Jordan said he was confident Johnson would avoid an attempt to remove him as speaker, saying he tells colleagues, “let’s work with Speaker Johnson. Let’s do what we told the American people we’re going to do.”
Jordan, an ally of Donald Trump and a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, mounted a short-lived campaign for speaker following McCarthy’s ouster. He lost multiple votes, spurring Johnson’s emergence as an alternative.
The Judiciary Chairman said he and his staff were working to reissue a subpoena for Hunter Biden to testify in private as part of Republicans’ investigation into his foreign business dealings and those of other family members of President Joe Biden. Johnson said he was optimistic the matter would be sorted out.
Hunter Biden on Friday abruptly reversed his stance and offered to testify behind closed doors after insisting he would only answer House Republicans’ questions in public.
Jordan predicted a big win for Trump in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, in which the former president holds a commanding lead over rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis.
“I think he’s going to win tomorrow night. I think he’s going to win in New Hampshire, I think he’s going to win in South Carolina. I think he’s going to be our nominee. And most importantly, I think he’s going to be our next president,” Jordan said.
