House Republicans on Tuesday, Nov. 10, elected Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio to lead the party in the minority in the next Congress, choosing him over Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana. The vote was 106 to 73, sources familiar with the tally told CBS News.[1] ABC News reported the same count from multiple sources.[2] The secret-ballot result has not been released as an official record.
A shakeup after midterm losses
The vote came one week after House Republicans lost more than 40 seats in the midterm elections.[1] Democrats held a 254-166 margin going into the 120th Congress as of Tuesday, with 15 races still undecided, ABC News reported.[2] Race-by-race results are on our 2026 midterm election tracker.
Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana announced the day after Election Day that he would not run for minority leader.[3] He is stepping down from leadership.[1]
“When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom. And we will bring that fight in committee, on the floor and on the stump every single day,” Jordan said after the vote.[1]
Who Jordan and Scalise are
Jordan helped start the House Freedom Caucus.[1] He has chaired the Judiciary Committee since 2023.[1] He was first elected in 2007 and is a close ally of President Donald Trump.[2][3]
In his candidacy letter, Jordan wrote that Republicans had “operated without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us.”[1]
Scalise has held House leadership posts since 2014, serving as majority and minority whip before becoming majority leader in 2023.[1] Jordan and Scalise both ran for speaker in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted.[1] Neither could unite the conference, and Johnson won the post.[1]
The rest of the House GOP team
Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota was elected minority whip, defeating Rep. August Pfluger of Texas.[2] Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan was elected conference chair over Reps. Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida.[2]
Rep. Brian Jack of Georgia will chair the National Republican Congressional Committee.[1] He replaces Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who lost his reelection race.[1]
Senate Republicans keep Thune
Senate Republicans approved Sen. John Thune of South Dakota by acclamation to remain their leader in the minority.[2] The vote followed a closed-door discussion of the party’s midterm losses that delayed the scheduled elections.[2] No challenger emerged.[2]
Sen. John Barrasso will remain whip, and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas will remain conference chair.[2] Sen. Bernie Moreno, who was unopposed, will lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee, replacing Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.[2]
“Obviously, the election result was not what we had hoped for,” Thune told reporters after the vote.[2] In a statement, he said Republicans would keep “holding the line against Democrats’ efforts to enact their far-left, liberal agenda.”[3]
Dozens of Republican National Committee members had sent a letter on Monday urging a 30-day delay in leadership elections in both chambers, ABC News reported.[2] Leadership changes and votes are tracked on our Congress tracker, and more coverage is on the politics and government page.
Sources
- CBS News: House GOP elects Jim Jordan as next leader in major shakeup after midterms
- ABC News: House Republicans elect Jim Jordan as minority leader for the next Congress
- CNBC: Rep. Jim Jordan, Sen. John Thune elected GOP leaders in Congress
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