House Republicans Elect Jim Jordan as Leader Over Steve Scalise, 106-73

House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, chair of the Judiciary Committee, as their new leader on Tuesday, choosing him 106-73 in a closed-door secret ballot over House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Jordan, a founder of the Freedom Caucus and a close ally of President Donald Trump, will lead the party in the minority when Democrats retake the House in January, after Republicans' heavy losses in last week's midterm elections. His win is widely seen as a break with outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson, with whom Scalise had worked closely. Jordan sought the speakership in 2023 but failed to win a majority in three votes and lost to Johnson. On Wednesday, Scalise, the most tenured member of party leadership, said there was no decision on what's next and declined to say whether he would serve the full 120th Congress. He said he wants to accomplish as much as possible during the lame-duck session.

The Nation, on the left, treats the vote as a MAGA comeback, tying it to Trump's post-midterm moves and calling Jordan a fierce MAGA figure whom a former speaker, John Boehner, once labeled harshly. Raw Story's headline casts the job as a blow to the hard right's hold on the GOP, though its excerpt offered no article text. Fox News, on the right, centers on Scalise, quoting his Wednesday remarks to Chad Pergram and focusing on whether he will retire or stay as a rank-and-file member. Both sides agree Jordan beat Scalise and that the GOP heads into the minority; the left stresses ideology and Trump, the right stresses the defeated leader. Defector, an independent outlet, adds Jordan's past questions over the Ohio State sexual abuse scandal, which he denies knowing about.