Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio elected to lead House Republicans in the minority

Jordan warned of the coming Democratic efforts on oversight, with numerous investigations of the Trump administration expected.

“Our job cannot be merely to spotlight how radical this new Democratic Party is — offense, not defense, wins elections,” Jordan said, a nod to his pugnacious reputation in committee hearings.

Trump said he was staying out of the race.

Scalise and Jordan were a familiar match-up

Scalise and Jordan had faced off before, both running to serve as House speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job a little more than three years ago. Neither was able to rally the support necessary to secure the position, which eventually went to Mike Johnson, who is stepping aside from the leadership in the new Congress.

Scalise, 61, has held key GOP leadership positions going back to 2014, serving as party whip and then as majority leader. In 2017, he was critically wounded when a gunman opened fire at a baseball practice where several Republican lawmakers and staffers were preparing for an annual charity baseball game against Democrats. In 2023, he was stricken with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that was successfully treated.

“Overcoming adversity is nothing new to me,” Scalise said in his pitch to colleagues.

He also emphasized his fundraising prowess, noting he raised $67.9 million for this year’s midterms, with about a third of that going directly to individual House campaigns and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But the majority of Republicans opted for Jordan, who emphasized his experience battling with Democrats in committee rooms.

“I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook,” Jordan said.

Other positions were also up for grabs

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota was elected as the Republican whip, the No. 2 position in the leadership hierarchy. He beat out Rep. August Pfluger of Texas for the job.

Three candidates were seeking to serve as conference chair: Reps. Lisa McClain of Michigan, Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida.

Democrats will hold their leadership elections next week.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to become the next House speaker, the first African-American to hold the job, and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is expected to become the next majority leader. She would be the first woman to hold that position.

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.

Kevin Freking, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio elected to lead House Republicans in the minority

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