House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he would not run to remain in leadership during the next Congress after Democrats reclaimed control of the House.
Democrats took control of the House during Tuesday's midterm elections and are projected to win around 250 seats, Politico reported. Johnson said during a staff call that he would not run to be minority leader in the next Congress. (RELATED: Mike Johnson Releases Unending List Of Endorsements In Bid To Retain Leadership Role)
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan have been rumored to run for minority leader.
🚨🚨BREAKING NEWS -- MIKE JOHNSON will not run for House minority leader.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) November 4, 2026
He just said it on the staff call.
Republicans narrowly won the House in 2022 and underwent a leadership shakeup after eight Republicans voted to vacate former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Johnson had trouble passing parts of his agenda when House Freedom Caucus and moderate members pushed back.
Nine rules votes have failed under Johnson's watch, while no rules votes failed to pass under former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership. Members of the Freedom Caucus, including Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, shut down the floor after voting against a rule to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with the Safeguard America Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act attached.
Luna disagreed with Johnson's method of attaching the SAVE America Act, arguing it should have been added to the package's text. The Florida Republican and other holdouts later agreed to vote for Johnson's method and reopened the floor.
The House did not reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and several funding bills.
House Republicans managed to pass the One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB), the Working Families Tax Cuts and a limited version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act with their slim majority.
Democratic leadership historically cracked the whip more often than Republicans when members of their caucuses broke the rules. Leadership threatened to punish Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington for voting with Republicans to pass a rule to move forward on legislation.
House Republicans will choose their leaders for the upcoming Congress on Tuesday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the next speaker. He may face pushback from members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) over issues like Medicare for All and aid to Israel.
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