[REVISION HISTORY]

House and Senate Republican leadership contests

8 recorded revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-11-10 22:11 UTC → 2026-11-10 22:47 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Following significant midterm election losses that resulted in Democrats gaining control of both the House and Senate, Republican lawmakers have finalized new party leadership. In the House, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio has been elected as the new minority leader, succeeding Mike Johnson. In a secret ballot election, Jordan defeated Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana with a vote of 106 to 73. As a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus and former Judiciary Committee Chairman, Jordan is expected to serve as a key defender of the Trump administration during the upcoming 120th Congress. His victory is viewed as a shift toward a more combative leadership style. Jordan stated that the party must focus on offense rather than defense to win future elections. Additionally, Tom Emmer of Minnesota was elected minority whip, defeating August Pfluger of Texas with a 103 to 76 vote. In the Senate, John Thune has been reelected as the leader of the GOP conference. The decision follows a period of internal tension and tense meetings after the party lost at least seven seats during the midterm elections. While Thune ran unopposed, the process faced scrutiny from senators such as Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Josh Hawley of Missouri, who had previously called for a delay to allow for a reassessment of party strategy. Additionally, Senator Jim Justice of West Virginia noted that while current leadership was not responsible for the election losses, there were arguments for considering new leadership following such a significant defeat. ~~The party continues to await results from uncalled races in Alaska~~ In recent developments, Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio was elected as the new chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, succeeding Senator Tim Scott. Other members of the Republican leadership slate, including Senators Ted Cruz, John Barrasso, Steve Daines, Joni Ernst, and ~~Mississippi.~~ John Cornyn, were also reelected to their respective positions.

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