House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan is making stealthy, aggressive moves to position himself to replace Speaker Mike Johnson as party leader in 2025.

Why it matters: Many GOP members doubt Johnson will keep the top job, whether or not the party holds the majority. Jordan is a top ally of former President Trump who would help keep the conference full-on MAGA.

• Jordan privately told colleagues what he would be doing differently than Johnson during the recent fight over foreign aid funding, multiple sources told Axios.
• The Ohio Republican has been noticed handing out more campaign checks to colleagues, multiple lawmakers told Axios.

👀 One GOP lawmaker told Axios that Jordan previously said it was "not his job" to help vulnerable members.

• His shift has raised his peers' eyebrows.

Zoom in: Jordan is working to build relationships with moderate Republicans who would be a critical bloc of support.

• Jordan has hit the trail for a bevy of Republicans in recent months, including vulnerable Republicans and top allies of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

😎 The fundraising and campaigning for members outside his conservative bubble is a key olive branch from Jordan.

• Cash helps court support from members, and many are still skeptical of Jordan's leadership bona fides.

What's next: Many of Jordan's fellow Republicans think he's angling for the minority leader position as a stepping-stone to another future speaker bid.

• Jordan's speaker campaign fell flat last fall as 22 Republicans refused to vote for him on the House floor.
• At the time, Jordan sparked fury from moderates who said he actively worked to undermine House Majority Leader Steve Scalise's (R-La.) own speaker bid.
• Many of those defectors now think Jordan is undermining Johnson and are vowing to oppose him in future leadership races, sources told Axios.

Jordan spokesperson Russell Dye told Axios that his boss is "focused on the important work he is doing as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, growing the majority and supporting Mike Johnson as the leader of our conference."

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Trump defense lawyer Susan Necheles led the questioning against Stormy Daniels today in the hush money criminal trial, often targeting the key witness' credibility by accusing her of discrepancies in her story.

• "You made all this up, right?" Necheles asked Daniels, to which she responded with an emphatic "no," per Reuters.

Why it matters: Daniels' allegations about an alleged sexual encounter with the former president are at the heart of the criminal trial

• "You're trying to make me say that it changed, but it hasn't changed," Daniels said at one point.

Asked by the defense if her account of having sex with Trump was like "fictional stories" memorized for work, Daniels replied:

• "If that story was untrue, I would've written it to be a lot better."

Republican leaders are pivoting to resetting expectations among their more loyal members now that they've survived the first Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene ouster attempt.

Why it matters: There's massive pressure to punish Greene (R-Ga.) and the 10 other Republicans who voted to advance a Johnson ouster, including on-record suggestions they lose committee seats.

• "I wouldn't be surprised if there are some changes on a couple of committees after watching that motion to table vote," Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) told Politico.

Ditto for changing the motion to vacate, which would protect Johnson from future attempts.

• "There is an extremely high level of interest," Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) told Politico.

Reality check: "It's hard to have repercussions when you have a small majority," a senior Republican told Axios.

• Johnson has publicly expressed interest in future rule changes but acknowledged the difficulty of doing it midstream.
• "I don't think Johnson wants to escalate it in that way," Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) told Axios. "I think the best thing is just don't even bother talking about it. Stop giving [Greene] the purpose that she wants."

More cash has been spent on reserving ad space for the Ohio Senate race this fall than for the presidential race, according to data from AdImpact.

Why it matters: The battle between Republican Bernie Moreno and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) points to record-breaking spending this cycle.

• A whopping $2.5 billion has been laid out on political spending across broadcast, cable, radio, digital, satellite and CTV for the 2024 race, up from $1.7 billion in 2020.
• $725 million has been spent to pre-book ad space between Sept. 1 and Election Day on Nov. 5.

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