Jim Jordan Elected House Minority Leader, Beating Scalise 106-73

Last updated: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026, 3:35 p.m. ET. This is a developing story. We'll update it as Jordan, Scalise and House leaders respond.

House Republicans have a new leader, and it's Jim Jordan.

The Ohio congressman beat Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana on Tuesday in the race for House minority leader. The vote was 106 to 73, CBS News reported, citing sources familiar with the tally. NBC News and the Associated Press reported the same count. Only Republicans who will serve in the next Congress voted, behind closed doors and by secret ballot.

Jordan takes over in January. That's when Democrats take control of the House after last week's midterm rout, so his job will be leading the minority, not running the chamber.

Jim Jordan minority leader: how the vote played out

The race came down to two men who have circled each other for years. Both ran for speaker in October 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted, and neither could get the 218 votes needed. Mike Johnson, then a little-known Louisianan with no leadership experience, ended up with the gavel.

This time Johnson stayed out. CBS News reported he is stepping down from leadership and has been noncommittal about whether he'll stay in Congress long term. That left an open contest between Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, and Scalise, who has been in GOP leadership since 2014.

NBC News said Jordan's win signals Republicans wanted a clean break from the Johnson operation. Scalise was seen as a close Johnson ally.

In his candidacy letter, Jordan told colleagues the conference had been working "without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us," and that "will not cut it against an emboldened and energetic Democratic majority." He called himself "battle-tested."

Scalise struck a different note in his own letter. "This is no doubt a challenging time for our conference, but overcoming adversity is nothing new to me," he wrote. Scalise was critically wounded in the 2017 shooting at a congressional baseball practice, and he was treated for multiple myeloma after a 2023 diagnosis. He later said he was in remission.

Why Republicans are picking new leaders

The midterms were brutal for the GOP. CBS News said Republicans lost more than 40 House seats. NBC News put the incoming Democratic majority at roughly 260 seats, the largest in 35 years.

That loss reshaped the leadership race. According to AP, Jordan drew support from members who wanted new faces after what it called last week's "election debacle."

The leadership vote landed on a packed day on Capitol Hill. The House is also set to take up a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Here's what the Hegseth impeachment articles say.

Who is Jim Jordan?

Jordan, 62, has represented his Ohio district in Congress for nearly 20 years. He co-founded the hard-line House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman, AP reported. He has chaired the Judiciary Committee since Republicans took the House in 2023.

He's one of President Trump's most loyal allies in Congress. Those committee posts were central to his pitch. NBC News reported that he told colleagues his past work on the Oversight Committee would help him fight the investigations Democrats have promised into Trump's administration, family and business dealings. The Washington Post said he promised an aggressive defense.

What we don't know yet

Several pieces are still open. Results for the rest of the House GOP leadership team, including the whip, hadn't been widely reported when this story was published. Neither Jordan nor Scalise had made public remarks on the result yet. It's also not clear who will replace Jordan as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee. And Johnson hasn't said whether he'll serve out his term or leave Congress early.

House Democrats still have to choose their own leaders for the new majority, and the full House will elect a new speaker when Congress convenes in January.