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Jim Jordan, a hardline ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was elected leader of House Republicans on Tuesday, defeating fellow conservative Steve Scalise as the party reckons with a crushing midterm election defeat.
Jordan, the combative chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, beat the current majority leader by 106 votes to 73 in a secret ballot, US media reported. The result puts the Ohio congressman in charge of the party’s opposition to the incoming Democratic majority.
He replaces House Speaker Mike Johnson, who announced he was stepping down from leadership after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in last week’s elections.
A founding member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, Jordan had pitched himself as the fighter Republicans need to confront Democrats during the final two years of Trump’s presidency. His win was a rejection of the party’s established leadership, as Scalise has held senior Republican positions for more than a decade.
Both men are staunch Trump allies, but the president declined to endorse either candidate.
The contest was a rematch of the two men’s 2023 battle for the speakership after the ouster of Kevin McCarthy. Scalise initially won the Republican nomination but withdrew after failing to secure enough support. Jordan then lost three votes on the House floor before Johnson emerged as a compromise candidate.
A former champion wrestler, Jordan has represented Ohio in Congress since 2007 and built his reputation as a political brawler and fierce critic of the Republican establishment. Former speaker John Boehner once branded him a “legislative terrorist” for his uncompromising tactics.
Jordan also emerged as a leading defender of Trump during congressional investigations into the president’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
In the Senate, Republicans reelected John Thune as their leader and kept their existing leadership team, despite demands from conservatives for a reckoning over the election losses. Conservative lawmakers had temporarily stalled proceedings, calling for a clearer strategy for confronting the incoming Democratic majority.
“I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today,” Thune said in a statement, adding that he was honored to retain their support.
Thune, who will become Senate minority leader in January, pledged to work with Trump and to oppose what he called Democrats’ “far-left, liberal agenda.”
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