During his two decades in Congress, perhaps no House Republican has been more connected to the GOP base’s mood than Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
So when we had Jordan at the Punchbowl News Townhouse for “Fly Out Day” Thursday, we were eager to hear what the Ohio Republicans thought about the debate over Democrats’ demands to overhaul the Department of Homeland Security.
His skepticism about the Democrats’ requests highlight just how hard of a sell it will be to change ICE’s practices in the wake of a pair of deadly shootings in Minnesota.
We asked Jordan what he thought of mandating the use of judicial warrants in federal immigration operations.
“We’re not talking about American citizens here,” Jordan said. “We’re talking about illegal migrants. I think that is a real problem, because … you don’t go get a judicial warrant unless there’s some other crime.”
How about barring federal agents from wearing masks?
“What these guys have had to endure,” Jordan said of ICE and CBP officers. “For the most part, we don’t want that with our law enforcement. But in this situation, they’ve been doxxed, they’ve been tracked, they’ve been spit on, they’ve been harassed. They were attacked with a shovel and a broomstick in Minneapolis.”
For what it’s worth, DOJ dropped the charges on Thursday night against the two men involved in this incident.
And what about allowing states to investigate use of excessive force? Jordan said that’s the federal government’s role, not the states.
In addition, Jordan said he wouldn’t even be willing to have a discussion about DHS reforms unless Congress overhauls laws for sanctuary cities.
“Does one-third of the country want to live in a jurisdiction where we’re letting the bad guys on the street when we could turn them over to federal law enforcement?” Jordan said. “You go ask those people in Minneapolis, you go ask them in Sacramento, you go ask them in New York City. They’d all say, no, that’s stupid.”
We talked to Jordan about a lot, including FISA, the Epstein Files and whether he has a future in House Republican leadership. Watch the episode now.
