WASHINGTON — House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan won the right to lead Republicans in the lower chamber beginning next year as they brace for a massive incoming Democratic majority.
Jordan (R-Ohio) beat out House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) for the role after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced he wasn’t seeking the minority leader position in the next Congress.
Scalise and Jordan previously squared off against each other in 2023 after the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), with neither man able to claim the gavel.
“This is the start of our move to get the country back on track and get the majority back, but obviously, we’re going to have a lot of internal conversations,” Scalise told reporters ahead of a candidate forum on Tuesday.
Both men acknowledged the daunting task Republicans face in reclaiming the House after facing one of the largest midterm wipeouts since the Watergate era, as well as the onslaught Democrats will soon mount against the Trump administration.
Scalise had pitched himself as a battle-tested leader with a “proven track record” in his outreach to Republicans. The Louisianan had been in a top four House GOP leadership position since 2014, when he was majority whip.
Meanwhile, Jordan billed himself as a scrappy outsider and highlighted his track record of being aggressive on the Judiciary panel while vowing to take Republicans on offense.
“I am battle-tested on the oversight front, and I know the Democrats’ playbook,” Jordan wrote in a letter to colleagues last week. “I know what it will take to lead our Conference in the minority, to stay unified, and to coordinate and calibrate our response to the Democrats’ tactics.”
“We need a Leadership team that is active and engaged, forward-thinking and straight-shooting.”
Both President Trump and Johnson stayed out of the House leadership contest. Johnson, who will lead Republicans for the rest of the year, has been coy about whether he plans to continue serving in Congress, despite winning reelection for another term.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was one of the rare ex-speakers in recent decades who decided to stick around after losing the speakership.
“I’m encouraging the conference to unite around them [the new leaders] quickly. We have a lot of important work to do to wrap up this Congress and to finish strong,” Johnson told reporters.
