Washington — House Republicans voted to elevate Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan to lead the party in the next Congress, selecting him over current Majority Leader Steve Scalise following the GOP’s crippling losses in last week’s midterm elections.
Jordan is a hard-line conservative and close ally of President Trump. His ascension to minority leader represents a significant shakeup for House Republicans, who are looking to rebuild after losing more than 40 House seats.
Tuesday’s vote was 106 to 73, sources familiar with the tally told CBS News.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is stepping down from leadership and has been noncommittal in recent days about his long-term future in Congress.
Jordan and Scalise both ran for House speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster in 2023, leading to weeks of turbulence in the House. But Jordan and Scalise failed to unite the party’s various factions. Johnson — who was then a little-known conservative with no leadership experience — pulled off a surprise victory with the conference voting unanimously to make him speaker.
Jordan helped start the conservative House Freedom Caucus and has chaired the House Judiciary Committee since 2023.
“For too long, we have operated without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us. That will not cut it against an emboldened and energetic Democratic majority,” Jordan said in his candidacy letter, arguing that he was “battle-tested.”
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Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, has held leadership roles since 2014, serving as majority and minority whip before becoming majority leader in 2023.
Scalise was critically injured when a gunman opened fire on a congressional baseball practice in 2017. In 2023, Scalise announced he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. He said several months later that he was in remission after undergoing treatment.
“This is no doubt a challenging time for our conference, but overcoming adversity is nothing new to me,” Scalise said in his letter to his Republican colleagues announcing his candidacy.
