No evidence Jim Jordan is 'disqualified' from running for Congress in 2024 | Fact check
The claim: Jim Jordan has been disqualified from running for Congress in 2024
A Dec. 20 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows Rep. Jim Jordan speaking into a microphone and claims the Ohio Republican is barred from seeking another term.
“BREAKING: Rep. Jim Jordan is disqualified from running for Congress in 2024 due to a violation of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment,” reads the text of the post from X, formerly Twitter, shown in the photo.
It was liked more than 1,000 times in two days. The X post from the Politics Video Channel was shared more than 1,000 times in a day.
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Our rating: False
A spokesperson for Jordan said the claim is false. There is no credible evidence that, as of December 2023, any entity with the power to disqualify Jordan from the 2024 election has done so.
‘Very false’ claim of Jordan’s disqualification
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies anyone who has taken an oath of office and then engaged in an insurrection or rebellion from holding a federal or state office unless a supermajority of Congress votes to allow it. Its original intent was to keep former officeholders who sided with the Confederacy from holding power during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period, but it has received renewed attention following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Jordan was among the Republicans who supported former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election and spoke to Trump by phone multiple times on the day of the Capitol riot, CNN reported in February 2022. Trump will not appear on the ballot in the Colorado Republican presidential primary election after the state supreme court issued an opinion stating he is disqualified under the 14th Amendment.
The wording of the Instagram and X posts suggests a similar development against Jordan took place in December 2023. But that has not happened, and the claim is “very false,” Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye told USA TODAY in an email.
Fact check: Video shows FBI director being questioned by Jim Jordan, no mention of 'jail'
Such a drastic action taken against a member of Congress certainly would make national news. But there have been no reputable reports or credible evidence that any entity capable of disqualifying Jordan has done so.
It remains unclear exactly how the process of invoking Section 3 would work, according to a 2022 analysis from the Congressional Research Service. The clause does not clearly outline the process for its invocation.
Protesters who rallied outside Jordan’s office in Lima, Ohio, in 2022 argued the Ohio secretary of state is empowered to remove the congressman from the ballot under that provision, Newsweek reported. Rob Nichols, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, told the magazine that the secretary does not have that authority.
Section 5 of the amendment gives Congress the power to enforce it. Congress last used Section 3 in 1919, when it refused to seat Victor Berger, a Wisconsin socialist who was accused of giving aid and comfort to Germany during World War I.
Jordan has previously been the subject of misinformation. USA TODAY has debunked claims that he flunked the bar exam and that he called Democratic former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “anti-American.”
When contacted by USA TODAY, the Instagram user who shared the post did not provide evidence to support the claim. Politics Video Channel could not be reached for comment.
Our fact-check sources:
Russell Dye, Dec. 21, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Constitution Annotated, accessed Dec. 22, Section 3 Disqualification from Holding Office
Constitution Annotated, accessed Dec. 22, Section 5 Enforcement
FindLaw, June 28, Disqualification from Public Office Under the 14th Amendment
Congressional Research Service, Sept. 7, 2022, The Insurrection Bar to Office: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment
Newsweek, Feb. 20, 2022, Jim Jordan Should Be Disqualified From Ballot Over Jan. 6: Protestors
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Jim Jordan is disqualified from 2024 election | Fact check