Jim Jordan won the House Republican leadership vote on Tuesday. But Ohio State wrestling survivors immediately objected to his victory. They say he repeatedly denied knowing about sexual abuse by team doctor Richard Strauss. The scandal has haunted his political career. His election as House GOP minority leader reignites this painful dispute over what Jordan knew and when.
Jordan defeated Steve Scalise in a secret ballot vote among House Republicans. The count was 106 to 73. Jordan is 62 years old and currently chairs the House Judiciary Committee. He is a close ally of President Donald Trump. During his campaign for the leadership post, Jordan emphasized his record overseeing federal agencies. Senate Republicans re-elected John Thune as their minority leader. Democrats hold roughly 260 House seats, their largest majority in 35 years.
Jordan’s election means House Republicans will pursue aggressive oversight investigations targeting Democratic officials and agencies. For abuse survivors, the result was met with an immediate public objection. Their demands are now on the record. Lawmakers cannot claim they did not hear them. The dispute now moves into the new Congress.
The objection that followed the vote
Michael DiSabato is a former Ohio State wrestler and Richard Strauss survivor. He responded immediately after Jordan’s victory. DiSabato said House Republicans “missed an opportunity to show they heard what voters said at the ballot box last week.” He called Jordan a “legislative terrorist” who has made protecting Donald Trump his priority. DiSabato also criticized Jordan for continuing to “deny knowing about the sexual abuse we endured at Ohio State.”
DiSabato made a direct challenge to Jordan. He called on Jordan to join House Democrats in demanding a congressional investigation into campus sexual abuse. DiSabato said this would give Jordan “the opportunity to explain under oath why he still says he didn’t know what Richard Strauss did to us.” He added: “I’m willing to testify under oath about what I saw, what I heard, and what I experienced. Is he?”
Jordan was an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State from 1986 to 1994. Richard Strauss was employed as a sports medicine doctor at the university during those same years. Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students over two decades. Most victims were male athletes. The abuse spanned from 1978 to 1998. Strauss died by suicide in 2005.
In June 2026, Ohio State’s board of trustees agreed to settle with survivors. The settlement totaled $100 million. Of the 280 remaining plaintiffs, nearly all accepted the payment. Only one survivor rejected the offer. Jordan has consistently denied any knowledge of the abuse. He made this denial under oath in a July 2025 deposition.
An HBO documentary titled “Surviving Ohio State” presented different accounts. In the film, former wrestler Dan Ritchie said wrestlers openly complained about Strauss to Jordan. President Trump defended Jordan in 2018, saying “I believe him 100 percent.”
Did Jim Jordan know about the Ohio State abuse? Jordan maintains he did not know and has said so under oath. Multiple survivors contend that wrestlers complained directly to him about Strauss during their time together.
Jordan becomes House minority leader when the new Congress convenes in January. The survivors’ request for a congressional investigation remains pending. The dispute is expected to continue when lawmakers return to Washington.
