Jim Jordan elected House Republican minority leader, defeating Steve Scalise

House Republicans on Tuesday elected Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as their next minority leader, defeating Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., in a closed-door vote held by secret ballot. The vote was 106-73, according to two Republican lawmakers in the room.

Jordan, the current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, will lead House Republicans as they enter the minority in the new Congress following Democratic victories in the midterm elections. The vote took place on Capitol Hill.

Jordan is a founder of the conservative Freedom Caucus and a fervent supporter of President Donald Trump. He pitched to GOP colleagues that his past role chairing the Oversight Committee would allow him to combat the spate of investigations newly empowered Democrats have promised to launch into Trump’s administration, family and business ventures. He wrote to his colleagues: “I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook.”

Jordan’s victory signals that House Republicans wanted a clean break from the Johnson political apparatus following last week’s historic GOP drubbing that handed Democrats roughly 260 seats — the largest majority in 35 years. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced he was stepping down from the leadership team a day after the Democratic rout. Johnson is close with both Jordan and Scalise, considering them mentors.

Scalise, the current House majority leader, has served in Republican leadership positions since Boehner was speaker. He argued he could best unify factions of House Republicans against the “socialists” coming to Washington. Jordan represented more of a change.

The two lawmakers previously competed for the House speakership following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy in 2023. Neither secured enough support to win the position, which eventually went to Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana. Johnson will remain House speaker until the new Congress convenes in January.

Jordan, 62, started climbing the ranks after the Tea Party wave swept Republicans into power in the 2010 midterms, winning the race to lead the Republican Study Committee, the largest caucus of conservatives on Capitol Hill. He and a handful of other conservative hardliners then formed the House Freedom Caucus, a smaller, more nimble and more conservative caucus that aimed to pull the GOP Conference further to the right. Among that group were Ron DeSantis, who would go on to become Florida governor, and Mark Meadows and Mick Mulvaney, who would both serve as Trump’s chiefs of staff.

After Republicans lost the majority in the 2018 anti-Trump wave election, Jordan challenged California Republican Kevin McCarthy for minority leader, but was easily defeated. The vote was 159 to 43.

Elections for the other House Republican leadership positions are ongoing. Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., fended off an insurgent challenge from Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, for the GOP whip job, the party’s top vote counter and the No. 2 post in the minority, Republicans said. The final vote count was 103 to 76, per sources. And House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan is trying to beat back challenges from two colleagues: Erin Houchin of Indiana, who holds a lower-level leadership post, and Greg Steube of Florida, who berated the current leadership team for choosing “accommodation over conviction.”

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital: “I personally like Steve, but he's been in leadership since before I was in Congress. And Jim Jordan, while he's a leader in Congress, he hasn't been part of the leadership team. He basically rose through the ranks because he was super effective.” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., another Jordan ally, told Fox News Digital the Ohio Republican “understands what we're up against,” adding, “His ability to communicate is really kind of unrivaled by anybody else in the House right now.”

Jordan is not expected to retain his leadership role on the Judiciary Committee when the new Congress begins.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.