Eric Swalwell Burns Jim Jordan With Brutal Locker Room Reminder

Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) gave House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) an uncomfortable reminder of his own past during a debate on genders and locker rooms. 

I guess its a good thing that some folks on the other side are now interested in what happens in a locker room, and were not going to look the other way, Swalwell said on Thursday. Ill accept that.

That was a not-so-subtle reminder of a time when Jordan was in a locker room as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, where he was accused of ignoring molestation allegations against the teams doctor.

Jordan has denied the allegations, which have been corroborated by several witnesses.

I considered Jim Jordan a friend, former wrestler Mike DiSabato said in 2018 . But at the end of the day, he is absolutely lying if he says he doesnt know what was going on.

Swalwell on Thursday spoke out against a Republican-backed bill that would order amateur and Olympic sports programs to block transgender athletes from womens sports.

He said the bill would set-up on-demand gender checks and asked who would be enforcing it.

Is Mr. Jordan enforcing it? Mr. Gaetz enforcing it? Mr. Biggs? Who is enforcing this on-demand gender check? he asked, naming GOP lawmakers who back the bill. You didnt put that into the bill. Seems a little creepy that we dont know whos going to be determining genders here. 

Its kinda creepy, he said again. Kind of creepy that youre setting up on-demand gender checks. 

Swalwell dismissed the matter as a small issue overall that Republicans are trying to extrapolate across the country. 

They want you to think its a thing. Its not a thing, he said. There are things: Gun violence. Fertility bans. Government-mandated pregnancies. Those are things. This is not a thing. 

Swalwell concluded with one last jab at Jordan. 

Thank you for caring about what happens in locker rooms, he said, with a dismissive wave.