House Republicans on Tuesday, Nov. 10, chose Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to lead them in the next Congress, when they will be in the minority. Jordan beat Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana 106 to 73 in a secret-ballot vote of the Republican conference.
Jordan, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, will lead a smaller conference against a Democratic majority after Republicans lost control of the House in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The new Congress convenes on Jan. 3 under the 20th Amendment, unless Congress sets a different day by law. The House elects its Speaker then, so the gavel will go to the Democratic majority's pick and Jordan will serve as minority leader.
Republicans filled their other top posts the same day. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota will be minority whip, the member who counts votes, and Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan will chair the Republican Conference, according to a statement from Speaker Mike Johnson.
Johnson congratulated all three and said he looked forward to working "alongside this leadership team to earn back our majority."
What Jordan told colleagues
Jordan announced his run the day after the election in a two-page letter to House Republicans dated Nov. 4. "This is a staggering day for our Conference," it begins.
He argued that the party could not spend two years only calling out Democrats. "Offense, not defense, wins elections," he wrote, and he said Republicans had to win back voters' faith on safer neighborhoods, keeping more money in Americans' pockets and protecting "enduring American values and freedoms."
Jordan built his pitch around oversight. He predicted that every Democrat-led committee would turn to "investigating every facet of the Administration and private entities across the country," and he cast himself as the member best placed to answer. "I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," he wrote.
He also faulted how the conference had been run. "For too long, we have operated without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us," the letter says. He promised regular, open communication with members and said he would be "a relentless voice for our entire Conference."
Jordan and Scalise
Scalise has been the House's second-ranking Republican as majority leader. He was shot at a congressional baseball practice in 2017 and was treated for multiple myeloma after a 2023 diagnosis.
Jordan was a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, and the two men have competed before: both ran for Speaker in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was removed, neither could win the job, and it went to Johnson.
