Following significant midterm election losses that saw the House GOP majority dissolve, Speaker Mike Johnson has announced he will not seek to lead House Republicans in the next Congress. The revelation came during an all-staff call, sources confirmed, shortly after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan declared his candidacy for minority leader. Johnson’s unexpected rise to the speakership in October 2023, following Kevin McCarthy’s ouster, marked a rapid ascent from relative obscurity. Despite his efforts to campaign for GOP candidates nationwide, the party faced substantial defeats in key districts and historically Republican strongholds, including the projected losses of prominent figures like Bryan Steil, Tim Moore, Victoria Spartz, and NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson. Johnson himself acknowledged the party’s failure to buck historical midterm trends at his election night gathering, stating, ‘It’s very, very difficult to overcome. And it looks like history will be kept tonight.’ The race for House minority leadership now appears to be a contest between Jim Jordan and current Majority Leader Steve Scalise, while Majority Whip Tom Emmer has indicated he will run for whip in the minority.
Adapted from: Latest Political News on Fox News
