President Donald Trump plans to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two of his staunchest Republican allies in the U.S. House.
GOP Congressmen Devin Nunes of California and Jim Jordan of Ohio will receive the nation’s highest civilian honor for their efforts to defend the president during last year’s impeachment hearings and during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to The Washington Post, which cited White House officials.
Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, was a central figure in both matters, and is remembered for echoing Trump’s claims that both investigations were a “hoax” and alleging that rogue intelligence officials were responsible for carrying out a vendetta against the president.
“Congressman Nunes pursued the Russia Hoax at great personal risk and never stopped standing up for the truth,” the White House said in a statement. “He had the fortitude to take on the media, the FBI, the Intelligence Community, the Democrat(ic) Party, foreign spies, and the full power of the Deep State.”
No other reasons were cited for the awards.
Neither man has made any extraordinary contributions to American culture, which is the traditional criteria for the honor, reports said.
Trump has publicly praised Nunes on numerous occasions.
“He became a hero because he found out what was going on in government, and he found out about the hoax,” Trump said during a visit to Bakersfield in February.
Jordan, one of Trump’s primary defenders during the impeachment hearings in late 2019, has been the subject of an investigation into whether he was aware of sexual misconduct during his time as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University.
In another controversial departure from the award’s protocol, Trump presented the Medal of Freedom to far-right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh during his State of the Union speech in February last year, which ignited a firestorm of criticism.
Presidents have awarded the Medal of Freedom to artists, athletes, politicians and military leaders. Past recipients include actor Tom Hanks, poet Maya Angelou, author Harper Lee, boxer Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, astronaut Neil Armstrong and civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.
Nunes is set to receive the medal as soon as Monday, while Jordan is expected to be given his medal next week, the New York Daily News reported.
This is a developing story. Please stay with AJC.com for the latest updates. Information provided by Tribune News Service was used to supplement this report.
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