Jordan and Scalise face off for House GOP leader after midterms defeat
Democrats will vote on their House and Senate leaders next week.
As they digest last week’s midterm blowout -- demoting them to the House minority for at least the next two years of the 120th Congress, Republicans will determine their next party leader Tuesday in a race that pits Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan against Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
Speaker Mike Johnson announced last week that he won’t stand for election as House Republican leader in the next Congress, giving the GOP conference an opportunity to pick up the pieces of their shattered majority by choosing fresh leadership, or run it back with Johnson’s top two deputies, Scalise and Whip Tom Emmer. Only members who won election on Nov. 3 are eligible to vote in the leadership elections. Anyone who was ousted or is retiring may not participate.
Scalise and Jordan are no strangers to the GOP conference.
First elected in 2008, Scalise was critically injured during a shooting at practice for the congressional baseball game in 2017. He’s served at the Republican leadership table for more than a decade -- including as the GOP’s No. 2 leader since 2023. Scalise is also in remission from multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, which he was treated for in late 2023, taking a six-week absence to undergo chemotherapy.
Jordan has led Republicans at the Oversight and Judiciary committees, where his hardline approach and reputation as an ardent defender of President Donald Trump have made him a popular cable TV news guest.
First elected in 2007, Jordan is a two-time NCAA champion wrestler whose bid to replace Kevin McCarthy as speaker fell short in 2023.
House Republicans will convene at 9 a.m. for the Republican candidate forum and organizing conference followed by leadership elections from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Each of the leadership races requires a simple majority of the conference -- which has dwindled to less than 180 members.
The leadership vote is a secret ballot conducted behind closed doors. The current conference chair, Rep. Lisa McClain, is expected to post results for each ballot on her page on X.
Who else is running?
What about House Democrats?
The House Democratic caucus will hold its leadership elections on Nov. 18.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to be unopposed for speaker, which make him the first Black speaker in U.S. history. Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is seeking the majority leader position and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California hopes to be selected majority whip.
All three Democrats are currently running unopposed and are expected to receive majority support from the caucus.
The House will still need to hold a roll call vote on the floor on Jan. 3, 2027, to determine who will hold the speaker's gavel. That vote requires a simple majority of the body -- 218.
Senate leadership elections
Senate Republicans are also scheduled to hold their closed-door leadership election on Tuesday, though a number of GOP senators are calling for the elections to be delayed in order to allow for further discussion about the direction of the conference following the midterms.
At this stage it's not yet clear whether these calls will substantively delay the vote.
No major shakeups are expected to the current party leadership, but things could shift as the intraparty discussions take place.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota serves as Senate majority leader until January with Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming as majority whip and Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas as chair of the Senate Republican Conference.
Senate Democrats have not yet noticed when they intend to hold their leadership elections.
ABC News' Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.