House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as their new minority leader on Tuesday in a 106-73 closed-door secret ballot vote.
Jordan defeated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana for the post, according to two Republican lawmakers in the room. Outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson chose not to run for the minority leader position following last week’s midterm elections. House Democrats secured roughly 260 seats in the vote.
The Republican caucus selected Jordan to lead a clean break from the previous leadership apparatus. Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana told Esquire that he backed outsiders in the leadership races because the party “got our butts handed to us.” Jordan pitched himself to colleagues as battle-tested on oversight due to his past role chairing the Judiciary Committee.
Congratulations Tom Emmer, House Minority Whip-elect. pic.twitter.com/eschn3EXHl
Over the next two years, House Republicans will fight for American families,
Jordan told reporters after his victory. When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom, and we will bring that fight in committee, on the floor, and on the stump every single day.
Did You Know? Jordan started climbing the ranks after the Tea Party wave swept Republicans into power in the 2010 midterms, eventually helping found the House Freedom Caucus with other conservative hardliners.
I’m running for Chair of the House Republican Conference. Republicans didn’t lose because we were too conservative. We lost because we failed to deliver on the conservative policies we promised. I’m not interested in preserving the status quo. I’m stepping forward to give… pic.twitter.com/e0ftl9mSuP
Senate Republicans also held closed-door leadership elections on Tuesday and re-elected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as minority leader by acclamation, alongside John Barrasso of Wyoming and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, according to Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse. A small group of senators had pushed to delay the vote to process election results, and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin walked out after a 31-15 vote to proceed.
Across the aisle, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer remain favorites to lead their respective chambers. NBC News projects Democrats will secure 259 seats in the House.
Elevating a combative conservative like Jordan indicates that House Republicans intend to lean into direct confrontation with the incoming Democratic majority.
Jordan defeated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise in a 106-73 secret ballot vote held behind closed doors, according to two Republican lawmakers present.
Senate Republicans re-elected John Thune, John Barrasso, and Tom Cotton by acclamation after a group of senators unsuccessfully pushed to delay the vote to debate the midterm results.
NBC News projects that Democrats will secure roughly 259 seats.
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