Johnson Steps Aside as Scalise and Jordan Square Off to Lead House Republicans in the Minority

WASHINGTON — House Republicans lost the majority on Tuesday. By Wednesday, they had lost their leader too.

Speaker Mike Johnson has told staff he won't run for minority leader in the next Congress, clearing the way for the most open GOP leadership contest in years. Two familiar names have stepped forward: Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.

A 2023 rematch

If this sounds familiar, it should. In October 2023, after Kevin McCarthy was ousted, Scalise beat Jordan in the conference's secret-ballot vote to be the speaker nominee, then withdrew a day later when it was clear he couldn't reach 217 on the floor. Jordan's own bid collapsed weeks later, and the conference turned to Johnson as a compromise.

This time, the math is different. There is no floor vote for minority leader. Whoever wins a majority of the Republican conference gets the job. That favors whoever can lock down the most members in closed-door meetings over the next few weeks.

Scalise is pitching continuity and experience. He has been in elected leadership for more than a decade and knows the conference's factions better than anyone. Jordan is pitching a fighter for two years of opposition. He made his name as a hard-nosed investigator, which is exactly the skill set a minority needs when Democrats start issuing subpoenas.

"An entirely new slate"

Axios reports that the size of Tuesday's loss has prompted calls inside the conference for a full leadership overhaul, which could hurt Scalise, the more establishment of the two.

That mood is showing up further down the ballot:

• Whip: Rep. August Pfluger of Texas is challenging Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
• Conference chair: Rep. Erin Houchin of Indiana is challenging Rep. Lisa McClain, who says she has 35 members publicly behind her.

President Trump has said he'll stay out of the minority leader race, a notable hands-off posture from a president who has rarely sat out an intra-party fight.

The Senate stays put

The upheaval is mostly a House story. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who will become minority leader in January, spoke with Trump after the losses and is expected to keep his post for two more years. "Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House," Thune wrote on election night.

Democrats are moving faster

Across the aisle, Hakeem Jeffries announced his bid for speaker on Wednesday. Democrats hold their leadership elections Nov. 18 and 19. Katherine Clark is running for majority leader, Pete Aguilar for whip, Joe Neguse for assistant speaker and Ted Lieu for caucus chair.

What's at stake

The minority leader's job isn't glamorous, but it matters. Whoever wins will decide how House Republicans answer two years of Democratic investigations, how they message on prices heading into 2028, and whether the conference stays unified enough to sustain the president's vetoes. Kevin McCarthy used his minority years from 2019 to 2022 to recruit the candidates who won the majority back. The next leader has the same job, and less time to do it.