Reps. Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan to be Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
Reps. Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan are expected to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The Medal of Freedom is known to the nation's highest civilian honor.
It will be awarded to Nunes and Jordan by President Donald Trump himself, a source familiar with the matter confirmed in a Sacramento Bee report.
Nunes, who is the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, is expected to get his Medal of Freedom on Monday while Jordan will have his by next week, said a report from Axios.
Trump's plan to give this award came less than three weeks before the January 20 inauguration day where President-elect Joe Biden will start his term in the White House.
Washington Examiner noted that Trump's public schedule which was released on Sunday evening did not include the said ceremony.
Both Nunes, Jordan Close Republican Allies
Nunes and Jordan are known to be two of the president's closest Republican allies.
Jordan led the Republicans' defense of the president during his impeachment hearings. Meanwhile, Nunes is a California Republican who's been one of the closes people to Trump in Congress.
Read also: Trump Urges Georgia Election Official To 'Find' Over 11,000 Ballots, Review Results
He also launched a fierce attack on Democrats during the said hearing which helped set the stage for the GOP to argue that the hearings were partisan and an extension of the 2016 Russian probe.
He defended the president during the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation as well.
He accused members of the intelligence community that they were make improper revelations in officials working on the Trump campaign in 2016 which he believed should have been kept confidention.
At the time, he called both investigations a "hoax" an alleged that certain intelligence officials actually had personal biases against the president.
Trump clearly adored Nunes's work during the investigation since he still had him lined up for the awarded despite multiple lawsuits, said a report from Raw Story.
This is not the first time Trump expressed interest in giving Nunes an award.
It can be recalled that in 2018, Trump also called for Nunes to get the Medal of Honor, which can only be awarded to members of the military, The Washington Post reported.
He later corrected himself and said in an episode of Fox and Friends in 2018 that he actually meant the Medal of Freedom.
Read also: President Trump Considered as Frontrunner for 2024 Election, But Some Contenders Remain
In the past, the said award has been given to artists, athletes, politicians and military leaders. Some of the past recipients include actor Tom Hanks, poet Maya Angelou, author Harper Lee, and boxer Muhammad Ali.
Trump Calls Nunes 'A Hero'
Amid the praises he received from the president, Nunes was also called a "hero" by Trump.
"He became a hero because he found out what was going on in government, and he found out about the hoax," Trump said in February.
Alongside Jordan, a ranking member f the House Judiciary Committee, they were outspoken critics of the Justice Department and FBI's conduct during the Russian investigations, also dubbed by Trump as a "witch hunt."
Jordan is one of the House members to lead the GOP effort in contesting the Electoral College votes on Wednesday.