ALL OBSTRUCTION, ALL THE TIME:

The discussions between the president and McCarthy about Jordan, which took place last week, set off a round of speculation among lawmakers inside the Capitol that Trump may try to push Jordan to become the top Republican lawmaker on the House Judiciary Committee, a panel expected to launch an array of Democratic investigations against the president -- and possibly even an impeachment probe.

"Jim Jordan will be the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee," top Trump ally Cory Lewandowski predicted Tuesday evening on MSNBC's Hardball.

Jordan wants that position, according to GOP lawmakers and aides. And Trump thinks Jordan would be a ferocious defender.

But McCarthy does not have authority to unilaterally appoint a lawmaker to any ranking member position. Rather, the decision is up to the Republican Steering Committee, a collection of members who do not like Jordan and may not take their cues from the White House.

Not every move this president makes could be labeled "obstruction of justice," but it's clear that everything he does revolves around his fear of investigations. So this whole attempt at "peacemaking" between McCarthy and Jordan was really about trying to set up one of his loyalists to muddy up attempts by the Judiciary Committee to hold him accountable.

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