Where Things Stand: Can’t Even Set Up Their Bogus Subcommittee Right

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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) walks on his way to speak to reporters at the Senate subway before the day's impeachment trial proceedings against President Donald Trump on January 25, 2020 i... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 25: U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) walks on his way to speak to reporters at the Senate subway before the day's impeachment trial proceedings against President Donald Trump on January 25, 2020 in Washington, DC. The defense team starts its arguments today in the Senate impeachment trial in the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) MORE LESS

February 1, 2023 6:33 p.m.

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I will preface this by saying that it appears the issue has been resolved BUT for at least a few of the last 24 hours, Democrats held a supermajority on the subcommittee that Jim Jordan created to, essentially, find out what dirt the DOJ has on him.

That’s a bit reductive but not untrue. Here’s what happened:

Kyle Cheney of Politico was first to note the news — due to a typo in a resolution that passed the House on Tuesday, Republicans had accidentally shrunk the size of the House “weaponization subcommittee” to 12 members instead of expanding it to 21. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) was the one to submit the resolution.

The House, in an attempt to expand the “weaponization” subcommittee to 21 members, appears to have inadvertently shrunk it to 12 and given Dems a supermajority. pic.twitter.com/LG9O2rbKJ9
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 1, 2023

The resolution also specifically said that “not more than 9 shall be appointed in consultation with the minority leader.” This all means that, temporarily, Democrats had nine seats on Jim Jordan’s subcommittee and Republicans had three, giving Democrats the supermajority on a panel that was created to help Fox News write its scripts for the evening broadcast.

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) proposed a fixed version of the resolution on Wednesday and it passed, amending the errors and giving Republicans the majority on the new subcommittee, which Jordan is set to chair.

The Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government was one of many favors hardline Republicans were able to pull out of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in exchange for the speakership. The subcommittee has wide-ranging authority to investigate the federal government, including the Justice Department, gifting those on the committee who are conflicted themselves a platform to poke holes in the very investigations they might be implicated in.