House Republicans Elect Jim Jordan Leader Over Steve Scalise, 106-73, After Midterm Losses

House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as their leader for the next Congress in a closed-door meeting Tuesday, defeating House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana by 106 votes to 73. Jordan, 62, a founding member of the Freedom Caucus and a close ally of President Donald Trump, will lead the party in the minority from January, after Republicans lost more than 40 seats in last week's midterm elections. Scalise had worked closely with outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson. On Wednesday Scalise said no decision had been made on what comes next and declined to say whether he would serve the full 120th Congress, adding that he wants to accomplish as much as possible during the lame-duck session. In a television interview the same day, Jordan predicted Democrats would pursue a third impeachment of Trump, go after cabinet members such as Secretary Hegseth, and target potential Republican nominees including Vance, Rubio, DeSantis and Youngkin.

CBS News, on the left, frames the vote as a signal that the party wants a fight. It opens with Jordan's past description by former Speaker John Boehner as a political "terrorist" and his record of combative hearings, and quotes Republican Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Ralph Norman calling him a fighter. Fox News and Breitbart, on the right, skip that history. Fox leads with Scalise's refusal to commit to a full term and quotes his remarks about the lame duck. Breitbart leads with Jordan's Hannity interview and his claim that Democrats are driven by politics. Both sides call Jordan a fighter and note the Democratic takeover. The left explains why Republicans picked him, while the right looks ahead to Democratic oversight or to Scalise's future. Independent outlets The American Conservative and Axios add the vote tally and the view that the result breaks with Johnson's leadership.