House GOP Picks Jim Jordan Over Scalise, but Senate Republicans Stick With Thune
House Republicans picked Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio over Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana on Tuesday to lead their shrunken conference in the minority, while Senate Republicans kept Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as their leader despite a conservative push to delay the vote.
Jordan won the closed-door, secret-ballot contest 106-73, the Associated Press reported. Only Republicans who won election on Nov. 3 were eligible to vote, ABC News noted.
Jordan, 62, chairs the Judiciary Committee and co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, serving as its first chairman. He sold himself as the right fighter for a conference bracing for a wave of Democratic investigations of the Trump administration.
“I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook,” Jordan wrote to colleagues, NBC News reported. In remarks reported by the Associated Press, he added, “Offense, not defense, wins elections.”
Scalise, 61, has held GOP leadership posts since 2014 and leaned on his experience and fundraising, including $67.9 million raised for the midterms. “Overcoming adversity is nothing new to me,” he told colleagues.
The two men faced off before. Both sought the speakership after Kevin McCarthy’s 2023 ouster, and neither could reach 218 votes, opening the door for Speaker Mike Johnson, who is stepping aside from leadership in the new Congress.
Jordan’s win signals that House Republicans wanted a clean break from the Johnson operation after an election that handed Democrats roughly 260 seats, the largest majority in 35 years, NBC News reported.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota beat back a challenge from Rep. August Pfluger of Texas for the No. 2 job. Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan fended off Reps. Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida.
Senate GOP Keeps Its Team
Across the Capitol, Senate Republicans reelected Thune after three tense closed-door meetings over midterm losses that cost them at least seven seats and their majority, the Associated Press reported.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin led a bid to postpone the leadership elections, but the conference voted to proceed. Johnson walked out of the room as the voting began.
Thune ran unopposed and was elected by acclamation, along with Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming and Conference Chair Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse told NBC News.
Johnson had been joined in calling for a delay by Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Budd of North Carolina, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania and Jim Banks of Indiana, Just the News reported.
“After that stunning defeat, we just can’t continue on business as usual,” Johnson told Semafor before the vote. “That kind of defeat demands change.”
McCormick said in a statement that “we need leadership in place fast, but Tuesday is too soon,” NBC News reported. Lee had argued the vote should wait until the uncalled Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi are decided, PBS NewsHour reported, citing the Associated Press.
Scott, meanwhile, urged colleagues to stay in Washington through Thanksgiving and Christmas to confirm as many of President Donald Trump’s nominees as possible before Democrats take control in January, Florida’s Voice reported.
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