Jim Jordan calls for House Judiciary hearing on ‘cancel culture’

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) called on Monday for the House Judiciary Committee to hold a public hearing on “cancel culture,” arguing that the committee should investigate what he claimed was a wave of “censorship” occurring in private companies, on college campuses, and other facets of American life.

Jordan, the committee’s ranking member, did not give a reason in his letter why the Judiciary Committee, which is tasked with overseeing the federal court system and law enforcement, would have purview over this issue.

The Ohio Republican argued instead in his letter that “cancel culture’s long-term consequences to our democracy and our constitutional framework are serious and substantial.” He referenced a number of issues including former President Trump’s ban from Twitter in the wake of the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“The wave of cancel culture spreading the nation is a fundamental threat to free speech rights in the United States,” he wrote.

#BREAKING: Ranking Member @Jim_Jordan calls on @RepJerryNadler to hold first full committee hearing on “cancel culture.” pic.twitter.com/FEI20b6qio

— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) March 1, 2021

A request for comment from Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the committee’s chairman, was not immediately returned.

Trump supporters have argued that tech companies were practicing censorship when they banned the former president and other prominent spreaders of conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election. After the riot on Jan. 6, Twitter and Facebook both moved to remove Trump from their platforms.

They have also pointed to other issues of conservatives facing backlash for views that many regard as hateful.

Last week, in another instance mentioned by Jordan in his letter, several Republican senators demanded answers from Amazon over the company’s decision to pull a book that critics argued contained hateful claims about transgender people.