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Mike Johnson rules out House minority leader bid after Republicans' midterm defeat
Mike Johnson will not seek election as House minority leader after Republicans lost control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections.
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Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t intend to lead House Republicans next year following the party’s election defeat, said people familiar with his plans, triggering a struggle over who will guide GOP lawmakers as they confront a diminished role as a legislative minority.
The fight to replace him likely pits the House GOP’s current second-ranking leader, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, an establishment conservative, against Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, a combative hardliner who has long eyed a leadership role. Current third-ranking Republican leader Tom Emmer of Minnesota could also join the race.
Johnson traveled to 36 states to campaign for Republican candidates over the two-year election cycle and by mid-October had helped raise more than $526 million for individual candidates and his endorsed super political action committee, according to his campaign staff.
But it wasn’t enough as voters angry over the high cost of living and an unpopular war with Iran turned on President Donald Trump.
As of Wednesday morning, Democrats had won at least 228 House seats, well above the 218 needed for a majority. Republicans won in 139 districts, with 68 still to be called. NBC News projected Democrats could wind up with 258 seats to Republicans 177, an 81-seat majority, and well above the 214 seats they hold in the current House.
Jockeying to replace Johnson will immediately begin. House Republicans are set to hold closed-door elections for their new slate of party leaders on Nov. 10.
Scalise, Johnson and Emmer all competed to be party leader the last time the position was open in 2023, after the ouster of former Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy. None were able to unite the fractious party behind them, a requirement for the speakership since securing that post requires a majority of the entire House.
The 2023 succession battle dragged on for three weeks before Republicans settled on Johnson, a Trump ally who was previously a low-profile figure and hadn’t provoked open hostility from any of the party’s factions. The minority leader is elected by a simple majority of Republicans so doesn’t require such broad support.
Johnson counts as his greatest achievement the enactment of Trump’s signature $4 trillion tax bill. The bill’s tax cuts skewed toward the wealthy but included a slew of breaks for the working and middle class, including for overtime and tipped labor. The bill was paid for by the largest cuts to entitlements in history, focused on Medicaid and food stamps.
Democrat Hakeem Jeffries is on track to become the new speaker of the House after it convenes in January. He is set to be affirmed as party leader in a closed-door vote of the caucus this month, followed by a public vote of the entire House in January in which a 218 majority of all voting members is necessary to become speaker.
If elected, Jeffries will be the first African American to hold the agenda-setting position, which is third in line to the presidency.
Deep Dive
It was unclear who would emerge as House Republican leader in an internal party election expected next week. Conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio was expected to announce his candidacy later on Wednesday.
