Conservative firebrand Jim Jordan set to announce bid to replace Paul Ryan as House speaker

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• Republican Rep. Jim Jordan will announce a bid to succeed Paul Ryan as Speaker of the House on Thursday.
• Ryan has already endorsed House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to take his place.
• Jordan has been dealing with a scandal surrounding allegations he looked the other way on a pattern of sexual misconduct by a doctor during his time as wrestling coach at Ohio State University.

WASHINGTON - Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, a founding member of the ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus, will attempt a long-shot bid to succeed Paul Ryan as the next speaker of the House on Thursday.

"Should the American people entrust us with the majority again in the 116th Congress, I plan to run for Speaker of the House to bring real change to the House of Representatives," Jordan said in a statement. "President Trump has taken bold action on behalf of the American people. Congress has not held up its end of the deal, but we can change that. It's time to do what we said."

In addition, Jordan sent a letter to the Republican conference on Thursday announcing the bid, which would not be voted on until the new Congress convenes in 2019.

Current House Speaker Paul Ryan, who is retiring at the end of the year, said on Thursday in his weekly press conference that he supports House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, despite the fact he will not be in the next Congress.

"I'm not going to be here," Ryan told reporters. "I support Kevin McCarthy, everybody knows that."

Jordan has been the subject of a scandal in the past month. An NBC News report detailed testimonies from former athletes at Ohio State University where Jordan was a wrestling coach who alleged that he looked the other way at sexual assaults by a university doctor.

Jordan has denied any knowledge of the assaults and his Republican colleagues have rallied around him in support of the conservative lawmaker.