Jim Jordan elected House Republican leader
Republicans picked Jordan, a Trump ally, to lead the minority starting in January, when Democrats take back the majority.
House Republicans chose Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as their leader for the next Congress on Tuesday. Because the party lost its majority in the midterm elections, Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, will head the minority starting in January.
He beat Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the outgoing majority leader, 106 to 73. The vote was by secret ballot, behind closed doors.
Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, congratulated Jordan, the group's "founder and former chairman," on the caucus's X account. The caucus is the most conservative wing of the Republican conference, and Jordan is a close ally of President Donald Trump.
This was not his first try. Kevin McCarthy beat him 159 to 43 in the 2018 race for the party's top post, and in 2023 he lost his bid for speaker in a secret vote. As Judiciary chairman he has led investigations of the Biden administration.
Senate Republicans also reelected John Thune as their leader Tuesday. Speaker Mike Johnson did not seek a leadership post in the new Congress.
A minority leader does not set the House agenda or decide which bills get a vote. The job is to coordinate the caucus and its opposition. With Democrats running the chamber, the House will shift from passing Trump's agenda to investigating it, and Jordan will be the voice of the Republican opposition.
What that House does on trade, immigration and the review of the USMCA, the trade pact among Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, matters in Mexico. Jordan takes over when the new Congress is seated in January.
