Jim Jordan elected to lead House Republicans as party prepares for minority role

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio won the race Tuesday to serve as House Republican leader as the GOP prepares for its new role in the minority.

Jordan, who serves as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, defeated Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana in a secret ballot election of Republicans who will serve in the next Congress. The vote was 106-73.

Jordan, 62, is a co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman. His candidacy appealed to those looking for new leadership in the wake of last week’s election debacle and to those who like his hard-hitting political style.

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Jordan as minority leader will inherit a historically small House Republican conference that is only beginning to grapple with its loss of power as US President Donald Trump serves out his final two years in office. Leading the party back to the House majority in 2028 is sure to be a stiff climb, given the scope of Democratic victories in the midterms.

Jordan warned of the coming Democratic efforts on oversight, with numerous investigations of the Trump administration expected.

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“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.

Trump said he was staying out of the race.

Scalise and Jordan were a familiar match-up

Scalise and Jordan had faced off before, both running to serve as House 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 Mike Johnson, who is stepping aside from the 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 baseball game against Democrats. In 2023, he was stricken with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that was successfully treated.

“Overcoming adversity is nothing new to me,” Scalise said in his pitch to colleagues.

He also emphasized his fundraising prowess, noting he raised $67.9 million for this year’s midterms, with about a third of that going directly to individual House campaigns and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But the majority of Republicans opted for Jordan, who emphasized his experience battling with Democrats in committee rooms.

“I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook,” Jordan said.

Other positions are also up for grabs

In addition to the race for minority leader, Reps. Tom Emmer of Minnesota and August Pfluger of Texas are vying to serve as Republican whip, the No. 2 position in the leadership hierarchy. Three candidates are seeking to serve as conference chair: Reps. Lisa McClain of Michigan, Erin Houchin of Indiana, and Greg Steube of Florida.

The Republicans who will serve in the next Congress will hear from the candidates in the morning, followed in the afternoon by voting through secret ballot.

Democrats will hold their leadership elections next week.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to become the next House speaker, the first African-American to hold the job, and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is expected to become the next majority leader. She would be the first woman to hold that position.

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