House Republicans pick Ohio's Jim Jordan to lead them in the minority
File photo: NBC NewsHouse Republicans on Tuesday elected Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio to lead them in the next Congress, choosing the combative chairman of the House Judiciary Committee over Majority Leader Steve Scalise in a 106-73 secret ballot as the party prepares for its new role in the minority after last week's midterm losses.
Jordan, 62, is a co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman. His candidacy appealed to colleagues looking for new leadership after the election defeat — and to those who like his hard-hitting political style. He will inherit a historically small Republican conference as President Donald Trump serves out his final two years in office, and leading the party back to the House majority in 2028 is sure to be a steep climb given the scope of the Democratic victories.
Jordan warned colleagues of the oversight investigations Democrats are expected to launch against the Trump administration, and argued for an aggressive posture in response.
"Our job cannot be merely to spotlight how radical this new Democratic Party is — offense, not defense, wins elections," Jordan said, a nod to his pugnacious reputation in committee hearings.
"I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," he told colleagues in his pitch for the job.
Speaker Mike Johnson declined to run for minority leader after Republicans lost control of both chambers in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Jordan represents Ohio's 4th Congressional District, which includes parts of Delaware and Clark counties and a large part of central Ohio over to the Indiana border, and has served in Congress since 2007. When Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton leaves office in January, Jordan will become the longest-serving Republican in the Ohio congressional delegation.
The matchup was a familiar one. Jordan and Scalise both ran for speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job a little more than three years ago. Neither was able to rally the support necessary to secure the position, which eventually went to Johnson, who is stepping aside from leadership in the new Congress.
Scalise, 61, has held key GOP leadership positions going back to 2014, serving as party whip and then as majority leader. In 2017, he was critically wounded when a gunman opened fire at a baseball practice where several Republican lawmakers and staffers were preparing for an annual charity game. In 2023, he was stricken with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that was successfully treated. He emphasized his fundraising prowess in his pitch, noting he raised $67.9 million for this year's midterms — but the majority of Republicans opted for Jordan.
Trump said he stayed out of the race.
In other leadership votes, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota was elected to serve as the party's whip, the No. 2 post in the leadership hierarchy, defeating Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, 103-36. Democrats will hold their leadership elections next week. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to become the next House speaker — the first Black American to hold the job — and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is expected to become the next majority leader, the first woman to hold that position. Jeffries has said Democrats hold 258 confirmed seats in the 435-member chamber, the largest majority for either party this century. The new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.
Sources: Associated Press, "House Republicans pick Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan to lead them in the minority" (Nov. 10, 2026); The Columbus Dispatch, "Jim Jordan to become top Republican in US House" (Nov. 10, 2026); The Center Square, "Jim Jordan to be U.S. House minority leader; Emmer remains GOP whip" (Nov. 10, 2026).
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