GOP group attacks Jordan for homeland security funding

WASHINGTON – A Republican advocacy group launched attack ads Tuesday against Rep. Jim Jordan, arguing his opposition to a Department of Homeland Security funding bill is putting America's security at risk.

The decision by the American Action Network — a group tied to establishment Republicans — to attack Jordan, a hard-charging conservative, ramps up the fight among Republicans over how to respond to President Barack Obama's executive order shielding an estimated 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Jordan, R-Urbana, has led House conservatives in an effort to block the president's immigration order, pushing House GOP leaders to use the homeland security bill as leverage to overturn Obama's executive action.

The ad, first reported by Politico, features grainy images of terrorists and says that "some in Washington are willing to put our security at risk by jeopardizing critical security funding. That's the wrong message to send to our enemies."

Jordan is one of several Republicans targeted by the American Action Network, in what the group said was a $400,000 campaign that also features radio and Internet spots. The ads against Jordan will run on broadcast TV in the Cleveland and Lima markets for two days, according to a statement from the organization.

"It's important that Congress funds national security programs that keep America safe," Mike Shields, president of group, said in a news release. "It's important that voters hear the facts about Homeland Security and call Congress to support crucial national security funding."

Republicans split sharply last week over funding for the department. Jordan and other conservatives have pushed a House-passed bill that would fund the agency but block Obama's immigration orders from taking effect.

Senate Democrats filibustered that bill, prompting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to pass a "clean" funding bill without the immigration provisions. The Senate is debating a separate bill to overturn the president's immigration policies.

On Friday, with funding set to expire at midnight for the department, Jordan and other conservatives torpedoed a clean, three-week funding bill. That proposal was intended by McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, to give the GOP more time to solve the internal split.

When it was defeated at the hands of Jordan and others, Boehner and McConnell scrambled to pass a one-week measure, pushing that bill through just two hours before the department's funding ran dry. Jordan voted against both the one-week and three-week funding bills.

On Tuesday, Boehner said he would put the clean Senate-passed bill on the floor, which would fund the agency through September. That is sure to reignite opposition from Jordan.

Asked about the ad campaign against him Tuesday, Jordan said: "I voted to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security through the end of the fiscal year. The Senate did the same, except their bill allows taxpayer dollars to be used to fund President Obama's executive amnesty order. So of course groups who support amnesty are going to run ridiculous ads against those of us who are trying to stop it.

"The position I support and the position the House originally supported is exactly the position voters elected us to fight for last November. If pro-amnesty groups want to come after us for doing what we told the people we were going to do when we ran for the job, then they can certainly do that, but I think the American people will see through it."

Other conservatives were furious about the ads, alleging they were clearly the work of Republican leaders, namely Boehner. Critics noted that one of American Action Network's board members is Barry Jackson, who was a top aide to Boehner until 2012. And Shields is the former chief of staff for the Republican National Committee.

"This is John Boehner's plan," said Rep. Tim Heulskamp, R-Kan., who also is targeted in the ad campaign. "He's declared war on conservatives."

The Club for Growth, which has frequently supported Jordan and other conservatives on fiscal issues, quickly responded to the attacks on him.

"It seems like political insanity," Club for Growth President David McIntosh said in an interview Tuesday. It has "no credibility," he added.

McIntosh said he called Boehner on Tuesday and asked him to "renounce" the ad.

Boehner's spokesman, Michael Steel, noted "we are forbidden by law from coordinating with outside political groups — but the Speaker does not think these ads are helpful."

dshesgreen@usatoday.com

Twitter: @dshesgreen