House Speaker Mike Johnson told staff on Wednesday morning that he will not run to lead House Republicans as minority leader after Democrats won the chamber.
What happened
According to NBC News and CBS News, Johnson said on a staff call Wednesday morning that he will not seek the House minority leader job in the next Congress. The news came a day after election projections showed Democrats taking the House majority, which means Republicans will move from majority to minority when the new Congress begins in January 2027.
A minority leader is the top elected leader for the party that holds fewer seats in the House. That person organizes the party’s strategy, messaging, and votes while the other party controls the chamber and chooses the speaker.
Key points
- Johnson’s announcement followed major Republican losses in Tuesday’s midterms, according to NBC News and CBS News.
- House Republicans plan to elect their next leadership team on Nov. 10, CBS News reported, citing a GOP aide.
- House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is preparing to bid for the top Republican post, a person familiar with his plans told Axios.
- House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan is also widely discussed as a likely contender, according to CBS News and Axios.
Background
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, became the 56th speaker of the House in October 2023 after Republicans removed Kevin McCarthy. Republicans later reelected him as speaker in 2025.
On Tuesday night, Johnson spoke from Shreveport, Louisiana. “It’s been the honor of my life to serve as the 56th speaker of the House — not a position we ever aspired to or expected to have,” he said, according to CBS News.
In October, Johnson told CBS News he intended to stay as the party’s leader even if Republicans lost the House. In an earlier Fox News interview on Oct. 8, he also left the door open to other paths, saying he did not know his next chapter and joking that he would start a lawn business in Shreveport “with equal fervor” if that was the direction he felt called to take.
The other side
Democrats framed Tuesday’s results as a broad voter win. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X on Wednesday, “Too big to rig. Thank you, America.” On election night he posted, “Victory for America!”
Republicans, for their part, are already organizing the next leadership vote. Axios reported that Scalise’s team is pitching him as a “proven and tested leader” ready for legislative and oversight fights. A Scalise–Jordan contest would put two of the party’s best-known House figures against each other for the minority leader role.
Johnson’s future plans beyond the speakership were not clear in Wednesday’s reporting. He remains speaker until the new Congress convenes and chooses new leadership.
Sources: NBC News, CBS News, Axios, Hakeem Jeffries on X
