Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, according to multiple reports circulating Wednesday morning, a day after Democrats took control of the House in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Johnson reportedly informed staffers on a private call that he does not intend to run for minority leader or any other leadership post. The decision marks a sharp reversal from what he told CBS News on October 12, when he said he planned to stay in charge of the conference regardless of the election outcome.
“My intention is to stay and serve,” Johnson said at the time, adding that he expected Republicans to want him to continue leading them.
That was three weeks before Tuesday’s results came in. The scale of the GOP’s losses in the House appears to have changed his thinking.
Two names are already circulating as potential successors: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio’s 4th District, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana’s 1st District. Reports indicate Jordan is preparing to formally announce his bid.
House Republicans have set November 6 as the deadline for candidates to declare, with the leadership vote scheduled for November 10.
With the House leadership fight now underway, attention is turning to the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune remains in place.
