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US Politics

Speaker Johnson won't run for House Republican leader after midterm losses

Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan both say they will run, with Republicans set to vote Nov. 10.

Speaker Mike Johnson in his official portrait
Speaker Mike Johnson in his official portrait. Photo: United States Congress, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
31 news outlets reported this
Liberal14 outletsJohnson's exit and a bruising Scalise-Jordan fightCenter5 outletsJohnson steps aside and the race to succeed himConservative12 outletsRepublican wipeout and who should lead next
Published 3 min read
Overview

Mike Johnson will not seek to lead House Republicans as minority leader in the new , after Republicans lost in Tuesday's elections. Johnson told staff on a call Wednesday morning, according to sources cited by CBS News and others. His office confirmed it to Blaze News.

The Associated Press reports he is expected to keep his Louisiana seat as a rank-and-file member, while UPI says one staff member said he did not clarify whether he would fully resign his seat. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio have both said they want the top Republican job. In a letter to colleagues, Jordan called himself "battle-tested on the oversight front."

Republicans plan leadership elections on Nov. 10. UPI reports the party lost 21 seats. Democrats had won at least 228 House seats by Wednesday morning, with 68 races not yet called.

Democrats are preparing to nominate Hakeem Jeffries of New York for speaker, in a vote on Jan. 3, 2027. Johnson said in October that he meant to stay on as party leader if Republicans lost the majority. UPI reports that Johnson told his staff he had spoken to President Trump before the call.

Key figures
  • at least 228 seats won by Democrats as of Wednesday morning, per HuffPost — HuffPost
  • 68 races not yet called, per HuffPost — HuffPost
  • 21 seats lost by the Republican Party, per UPI — UPI
  • Nov. 10 date of House Republican leadership elections — CBS News
  • Jan. 3, 2027 date of the House speaker's election — The Boston Globe

Three sides of the story

Liberal14 outlets

Johnson's exit and a bruising Scalise-Jordan fight

CBS News opens with Johnson's call to staff and quotes both candidates' letters. Scalise promises to "win back the majority," and Jordan calls it "a staggering day" for the conference. CBS also recalls Johnson's Oct. 8 remark about starting a lawn business back home.

Axios frames the story as Scalise and Jordan vying to lead Republicans "reeling from midterm rebuke." It says the size of the loss "has prompted calls for an entirely new leadership slate" and that Trump could be pivotal. HuffPost's headline pairs Johnson's decision with Jordan's bid.

In the text, it calls his exit a recognition that Republicans "got absolutely rocked," and it describes House Republicans under Johnson as devoted to a "massively unpopular" president. The Boston Globe ran the AP report, which says Johnson is "often seen as an accidental speaker" and traces his rise and fall. The Independent's own piece, also citing two people familiar with the decision, adds a section on Trump's silence on election night, quoting a source from The Daily Mail.

Center5 outlets

Johnson steps aside and the race to succeed him

UPI leads with Johnson telling staff he won't stay on as Republican leader after the party lost 21 seats. It says unnamed sources confirmed the call to Politico, NBC News and The Washington Post, and that Johnson spoke to Trump beforehand. Straight Arrow News headlines that Johnson will "step down as House speaker," cites Politico, NBC and The New York Times, and quotes Jordan: "Offense, not defense, wins elections."

Roll Call puts the decision beside the blame game inside the party. It quotes Johnson warning of "most radical and extreme leftists in American history" and Rep. Greg Steube saying "The polls were not wrong. You were."

The Seattle Times carries the AP wire report on Johnson's rise and fall and the coming Scalise-Jordan contest. NewsNation's headline says Johnson won't seek leadership after the House loss, and it adds a line on Democrats being projected to take the chamber.

Conservative12 outlets

Republican wipeout and who should lead next

The Blaze reports that Johnson's office confirmed he won't run, calls it an "about-face" from his CBS interview, and quotes Jordan's letter and Scalise's pitch as "a proven and tested leader." RedState's headline calls the decision "surprising" after a "crushing" defeat, and contrasts it with his October line, "My intention is to stay and serve." The Post Millennial, citing Fox News Digital, prints most of Jordan's letter.

The Daily Mail stresses the size of the Democratic win, with a projected 255-seat majority and incoming Oversight chairman Robert Garcia's warning to "Lawyer up." It calls Jordan "controversial" and says his former Freedom Caucus colleagues have turned on him. A Federalist opinion piece argues the successor cannot be an establishment "lackey," and quotes CEO Sean Davis calling the move "the right move."

Where outlets disagree
All sources: 37 articles from 31 outlets

Liberal (17)

Center (5)

Conservative (15)

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1 min
Speaker of the House

The leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by its members, usually from the majority party. Second in line to the presidency after the vice president.

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Congress

The US parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. A bill becomes law when both pass it and the president signs it.

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House of Representatives

The lower chamber of Congress: 435 members elected every two years, with more seats for bigger states. It is the chamber that can impeach officials.

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Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day is November 3.

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GOP

“Grand Old Party”: a nickname for the Republican Party, used since the 1870s. GOP and Republican mean the same thing.

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