Edition · Thu 05 Nov 2026
Politics Desk
Mike Johnson Steps Aside as Scalise and Jordan Race to Lead a Diminished House GOP
The speaker who held together one of the thinnest majorities in modern history will not seek to lead Republicans in the minority, setting up a quick contest between two veterans of the party's past leadership fights.
By Rachel · Edited by Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
An exit after the rout
House Speaker Mike Johnson will not try to stay on as Republican leader in the next Congress, a top aide said on Wednesday, after his party lost control of the House in a resounding midterm defeat. He is expected to remain in Congress as a rank-and-file member from Louisiana.
An exit after the rout
His decision ends a tenure that began in October 2023, when the little-known Louisiana Republican became speaker after weeks of chaos that followed Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster. Mr. Johnson was the party's fourth nominee for the job, after Tom Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan each failed to unite the conference.
Two familiar names
The timing left little room for a long campaign. Republicans still hold the majority until January, and the outgoing leadership must steer a lame-duck session that will deal with spending bills and, potentially, the impeachment vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that Representative Thomas Massie has promised to force.
Two familiar names
Mr. Scalise, the House majority leader, and Mr. Jordan, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, both wrote to colleagues on Wednesday asking for their support. Both had signalled before the election that they would run for minority leader whatever Mr. Johnson decided.
Two familiar names
"My number one goal as Republican Leader will be to win back the majority," Mr. Scalise wrote, arguing that "tested leadership is needed now more than ever." Mr. Jordan pitched himself as the man to fight the coming wave of Democratic investigations. "This is a staggering day for our Conference," he wrote. "I know the Democrats' playbook." House Republicans are expected to hold their leadership elections on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The Senate: Thune stays on
On the other side of the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota will run to remain Republican leader in the minority, a spokesperson confirmed. No Republican has said they will challenge him ahead of next week's leadership vote.
The Senate: Thune stays on
"As we head into 2027, Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we've done," Mr. Thune wrote on X, adding that Republicans still had President Trump in the White House.
A minority with a hard job
Whoever wins will lead a smaller, angrier conference into two years of opposition. Democrats will control committee gavels, subpoena power and the legislative calendar. Republicans will have to decide how closely to tie themselves to a president who urged voters to treat the election as a referendum on himself, and lost it.
A minority with a hard job
The new minority leader will also have to manage a conference shaken by a swing among Latino voters, who moved back toward Democrats two years after helping Mr. Trump win. For now, the House GOP's first test is simpler: choosing a leader without repeating the bruising fights of 2023.