By Jackson Richman
Contributing Writer
House Republicans have elected Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as House minority leader, and Senate Republicans picked Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as Senate minority leader for the next Congress starting in January.
Jordan, who defeated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., in Tuesday’s vote, will face opposition from Democrats who have pledged to investigate the Trump administration, and will be tasked with taking back the House in 2028.
The tally was 106-73 in favor of Jordan, House GOP staff told reporters.
Jordan is currently chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He was first elected to Congress in 2006 from Ohio’s 4th Congressional District.
The election of Jordan, a staunch conservative, follows the GOP’s loss of dozens of seats in the midterms as the Democrats are on track to have as many as 260 seats come Jan. 3, 2027, when the new Congress will be sworn in.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who also serves as leader of the House GOP conference, elected not to run for minority leader following the midterm losses.
In a Dear Colleague letter, Jordan portrayed himself as a fighter for the House GOP and touted his experience in Congress facing the Democrats.
He criticized House Republicans for not having “a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us. That will not cut it against an emboldened and energetic Democrat majority.”
“I know what it will take to lead our conference in the minority, to stay unified, and to coordinate and calibrate our response to the Democrats’ tactics,” Jordan added. “We need a leadership team that is active and engaged, forward-thinking and straight-shooting.”
Jordan is a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, a conservative wing of the House GOP, and served as its first chairman. Under his watch, the Freedom Caucus pressured former Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, to step down as House speaker in 2015.
Jordan opposed Kevin McCarthy to succeed Boehner, but supported McCarthy’s speakership bid in January 2023. McCarthy became speaker after 15 rounds of voting — only to be stripped of the gavel the following October after a motion to vacate.
Jordan ran for speaker but lost an internal House GOP vote to Scalise, who was unsuccessful in gathering enough Republicans to vote for him to be in the position, which is second in line to the presidency. Johnson threw his hat into the ring and went on to become speaker.
Following Jordan’s election as minority leader, House Republicans praised him on X.
“Jim is a fighter and a convicted conservative. He’s the original congressional brawler and is exactly what our conference needs to lead us back to the majority,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, posted.
“He is a strong conservative who will fight for this country and hold Washington accountable,” said Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan.
Democrats criticized the House GOP for picking Jordan.
Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., reposted one of his posts from 2023 during the House speakership race to succeed McCarthy. Beyer criticized Jordan for not answering a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America also posted opposition on X: “Jim Jordan, a Trump ally who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, represents everything Americans voted against last week. The GOP continues to miss the message and show just how out of step they are with the people they claim to represent.”
In addition to Jordan, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., was elected House minority whip. He is currently the House majority whip.
Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., won reelection as House GOP conference chair.
Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
