Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House, has said he is not planning to pursue the role of minority leader once his party loses its majority in the chamber, according to multiple reports.
Coming in light of Republicans’ disastrous midterm defeat, Johnson’s decision effectively yields the position of highest-ranking Republican in the House to whichever member of his party can claim it.
Reports of his decision to rule out a bid for minority leader emerged after Fox News reported that the Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, chair of the House judiciary committee, was planning an effort to oust Johnson to take the position of minority leader, citing two people familiar with the matter.
It would not be the first time that Jordan has gunned for the House Republicans’ top job. Jordan previously sought to claim the title after Kevin McCarthy, the previous Republican speaker of the House, lost the job in 2023, but failed to net enough votes from members of the chamber.
Multiple outlets, including Punchbowl News and Fox News, reported that the Louisiana representative Steve Scalise, Republicans’ majority leader, was a candidate for the minority leader job. Like Jordan, Scalise vied for the speaker of the House position after it was vacated by Kevin McCarthy in 2023.
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