Jim Jordan no longer running for top GOP Judiciary slot

Jordan's office announced that he is no longer running for the top Republican slot on the committee after a spokesman from his office told CNN it was made clear to Jordan that leadership would be selecting someone else for the job.

Two other candidates -- Ohio Rep. Steve Chabot and Georgia Rep. Doug Collins -- were already running.

The news comes just days after Jordan announced he was interested in running for the post, leaving members of the steering committee, which determines the leadership and membership for each committee, scratching their heads. Jordan had long been seen as a potential candidate to fill the ranking member slot on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee where he had the most seniority. Seniority doesn't guarantee Jordan would have been selected for the position, but it is a factor for the steering committee.

Now, the question is whether Jordan's colleague and fellow House Freedom Caucus leader Mark Meadows will continue to seek the job of Oversight and Government Reform ranking member or whether he would step aside and Jordan would run. Before the news, Meadows had warned reporters that the committee GOP leadership shuffle was "fluid."

The House Judiciary and Oversight committees are expected to be in the spotlight next Congress when Democrats take the gavels and begin their rigorous oversight of the Trump administration.

In recent days, a congressional source confirmed that there had been discussions between the President and members about the leadership dynamics and committee roles. Before Thanksgiving, CNN reported that in private conversations with McCarthy, the President pushed for Jordan and Meadows to have the top Republican positions on key committees, according to a source familiar.

CNN's Elizabeth Landers contributed to this report.

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