Mike Johnson Steps Aside as House GOP Leader as Scalise and Jordan Race to Replace Him
Johnson won't run for minority leader after Republicans lost the House, setting up a second contest between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.
House Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek to remain the top House Republican in the next Congress, a day after voters handed Democrats control of the chamber, according to two people familiar with the matter. His office confirmed the decision, saying the speaker will not be running for minority leader.
Johnson won his own reelection to the House, so he is stepping aside from party leadership rather than leaving Congress. President Donald Trump said he did not ask Johnson to step down. Trump also said he will stay out of the race to replace him.
Two senior Republicans have already moved to fill the vacancy. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the No. 2 Republican, is running, according to a person familiar with his plans. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio has also announced a bid. Axios described the contest as a bitter leadership battle.
It is a rematch of sorts. In October 2023, Scalise beat Jordan in the conference's secret-ballot vote to become the party's nominee for speaker after Kevin McCarthy was removed, but he withdrew a day later after failing to line up enough votes on the House floor. Jordan then made his own unsuccessful run before Johnson emerged as speaker.
House Republicans are expected to choose their new leader when members-elect gather in Washington next week. Reporting from the first days after the election did not confirm whether Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who had been expected to seek another term in the No. 3 job, would also enter the race for the top post.
On the other side of the aisle, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is seeking the speakership and asked colleagues for their votes in a letter. Democrats are preparing a 100-day agenda focused on lowering the cost of gas, groceries and health care, along with oversight and investigations of the administration. Impeachment is among the options Democrats have left open.
The Republican leadership scramble comes as the party takes stock of a broad rebuke. Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the losses, and Trump called Vance's point "largely true" while defending the conflict, which is now more than eight months old. "The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it," Trump said. Sen. Ted Cruz wrote that too many Republicans "didn't understand or they didn't care" about voters' pain.
Whoever wins will lead a minority conference that has to decide how to respond to a Democratic majority eager to investigate the administration and to a president who has already threatened to use his veto against their agenda. The vote next week will show whether Republicans want a leader from the establishment wing or from the hard-right bloc that has repeatedly clashed with its own leadership.
