Democrats piled on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) Tuesday for repeatedly refusing to acknowledge that President-elect Joe Biden won the election “fair and square.”
During a House Rules Committee meeting debating a bill demanding President Trump’s removal from office following the insurrection at the Capitol that Trump incited, chair Jim McGovern (D-MA) urged Jordan to say that Biden won the election “fair and square.” The Ohio Republican has repeatedly used Trumpian rhetoric to push bogus election fraud claims in recent weeks.
McGovern argued that the public needs to hear from those who sowed doubt over the legitimacy of the election process so that the country can begin healing from last week’s Capitol riots — a deadly event that Trump encouraged his supporters to take part in.
After Jordan insisted that he previously acknowledged that Biden would be sworn in on January 20, McGovern called out the Trump loyalist: “that is not the question I asked.”
“I asked you to lay bare the fact that this lie out there that somehow Joe Biden did not win the election fair and square — he did,” McGovern told Jordan. “The President to this day continues to perpetrate that.”
Jordan dodged McGovern’s question again, saying that Biden would be president as he pushed unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in the election.
Jordan also tried to advertise himself as an advocate for bringing “the nation together” while voicing his opposition to invoking the 25th Amendment to boot Trump from office.
McGovern wasn’t buying it.
“This isn’t a both sides issue. Our Capitol was attacked. Five people are dead. Countless people are wounded,” McGovern told Jordan. “We had a group of domestic terrorists, homegrown fascists, who came to the Capitol building to desecrate this symbol of democracy and freedom, and to do harm to people.”
McGovern went on to call out Jordan and other Republicans for suddenly promoting “unity and healing” only after “our freedom and democracy” was attacked and having “given oxygen to the President’s conspiracy theories.”
Full exchange between Rep. McGovern and Rep. Jordan.
.@RepMcGovern: "Will you admit that Joe Biden won fair and square and the election was not rigged or stolen?"@Jim_Jordan: "He won the election…Joe Biden is going to be sworn in as president." pic.twitter.com/RmEb96DiVv
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 12, 2021
Tensions mounted as McGovern was joined by other Democrats in the Jordan grilling.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wondered aloud if there was anything that Trump could do that would finally prompt Jordan to stop defending him.
“Even after a mob of violent insurrectionists staged a gallows outside of the Congress and chanted, ‘Hang Mike Pence,’ even though they tried to force Pence not to do his job, even after five people are dead, we continue to hear these lies and slurs about the 2020 election,” Raskin said.
Rep. Jamie Raskin on Rep. Jim Jordan: "Is there anything the president can do that would cause Mr. Jordan not to defend him?" https://t.co/03eUQ6JSCb pic.twitter.com/EUL0Pyk62i
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) January 12, 2021
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) similarly expressed exasperation over Jordan’s continuous baseless election fraud allegations. Perlmutter didn’t hold back on how fed up he was with Jordan refusing to acknowledge that Biden’s victory was legitimate.
“We’re trying to bring this nation back together — Jim, jeez!” Perlmutter said.
"Jim, jeez! — Rep. Perlmutter to Jim Jordan pic.twitter.com/OkBnMKbyz9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 12, 2021
The contentious House rules committee hearing happened a day after Trump rewarded Jordan with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.
