Pro-Life Congressman Jim Jordan Elected Republican Leader
House Republicans on Tuesday elected pro-life Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio as their minority leader for the 120th Congress, elevating a longtime advocate for unborn children after the party lost control of the House in the midterm elections.
Jordan defeated Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana by a vote of 106-73 in a closed-door conference election. The selection followed Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision not to seek the leadership post and came as Republicans prepare to serve in the minority.
Jordan has a longtime pro-life record both voting pro-life at a 100% clip and sponsoring key pro-life bills to protect babies from abortion.
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National Right to Life congratulated Jordan on the election.
“Unborn children will continue to have a proven advocate leading House Republicans in the next Congress,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Throughout his legislative career, Jim Jordan has consistently stood up for unborn children and supported programs to help their mothers. We congratulate him on his election and look forward to working with him.”
Jordan, who has represented Ohio’s 4th Congressional District since 2007, has maintained a 100% pro-life voting record. That record includes votes to protect babies who survive abortions, prevent taxpayer funding of abortion, and stop federal funding from flowing to major abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood.
As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan has led investigations into the Biden administration’s enforcement of the FACE Act against peaceful pro-life advocates. In November 2025, he disclosed that the Biden Justice Department had secretly subpoenaed his phone records from Verizon for 28 months as part of the Arctic Frost investigation.
The request, issued in April 2022 and covered by a nondisclosure order, sought call detail records, texts, voicemails, and location data dating back to January 2020. Jordan described the action as “ridiculous” and the “epitome of weaponization of government.”
In 2023, when Jordan was nominated for Speaker of the House after Kevin McCarthy’s removal, thousands of Americans flooded congressional offices with calls urging Republicans to elect him.
Aides said phone lines were “melting,” with some offices reporting permanently busy numbers as grassroots supporters pressed for the pro-life lawmaker. At the time, Jordan had criticized Democratic positions supporting abortion up to birth and statements endorsing care decisions for infants born alive after abortion attempts, stating that “infants born alive following an abortion are kids, are children. All newborns deserve the same level of care.”
Tobias identified a key early priority for the next Congress.
“One of the first tests for the next Congress will be whether it keeps longstanding protections against taxpayer funding of abortion,” Tobias said. “We look forward to working with Congressman Jordan to defend the Hyde Amendment and oppose efforts to overturn state laws that protect unborn children and their mothers.”
Jordan, a former college wrestling coach and founding chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, has consistently argued that life is precious and that Congress has a duty to protect the unalienable rights recognized in the Declaration of Independence. He has publicly opposed efforts to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which has restricted federal funding for elective abortions for nearly 50 years and is credited with saving more than 2.6 million lives.
The election places Jordan in a central role leading House Republicans as they confront Democratic priorities on abortion and work to regain the majority. Jordan is 62.
