House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to step aside from Republican Party leadership following the GOP’s defeat in the midterm elections, opting not to seek support to remain House minority leader in the next Congress, according to two individuals familiar with his decision.
Johnson is expected to keep his seat as a rank-and-file member of the House representing Louisiana when Congress convenes in January. He secured reelection to an eighth term in office from his Shreveport-area district.
The decision marks a rapid rise and fall for Johnson, widely viewed as an accidental speaker, who aligned closely with President Donald Trump and guided the House GOP through a tumultuous era defined by one of the slimmest majorities in modern times.
His exit triggers an intense internal party struggle for the position of GOP leader following the sweeping Democratic win.
Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority leader, is seeking the leadership post, according to a source familiar with his intentions. The individuals who disclosed details regarding Johnson’s and Scalise's choices requested anonymity to discuss the private deliberations.
House Republicans are preparing to elect their new leader when members-elect convene in Washington next week, setting up a familiar contest between two figures who previously sought the top post — Scalise of Louisiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Johnson’s confident claims that Republicans could defy historical patterns — wherein voters usually penalize the president’s party in power — collapsed. Instead, Republicans suffered heavy losses as Democrats gained the House majority, leaving Johnson without any realistic path to power.
The powerful speaker’s gavel is now set to transfer to Democrats, who plan to nominate House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York for the position, second in line to the president. The House speaker’s election will be among the inaugural votes of the new Congress on Jan. 3, 2027.
From Shreveport to Washington
Johnson initially secured the speaker's gavel in 2023 after fellow lawmakers voted to remove the previous GOP speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, in a historic House upheaval.
As a junior member of House leadership, Johnson largely stumbled into the role after Republican colleagues reached a deadlock over McCarthy's replacement. Prior to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, he built prominence by organizing support for Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud during the 2020 election that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Upon assuming office, Johnson rapidly drew closer to Trump — to the extent that Johnson openly described their nearly daily phone calls and conversations, frequently providing personal impressions using the president's voice.
Johnson shepherded the approval of the GOP's central legislative package of tax cuts and social services reductions that Trump signed into law. He also shielded the president and the administration from damaging votes, such as a recent motion to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, by sending lawmakers home.
House leadership elections ahead
Johnson's announcement sets up a probable rerun of the internal leadership disputes that have unfolded in recent years between the House GOP's conservative and hard-right factions.
Scalise, the majority leader, has consistently sought backing from the House GOP's mainstream conservative wing, especially representatives tied to energy and business sectors. Jordan, an aggressive former wrestler who chaired the Judiciary Committee, remains favored by hardline conservatives, including key Freedom Caucus figures.
Both Scalise and Jordan sought the speaker's gavel after McCarthy was removed in 2023, yet neither achieved majority support from fellow members, dividing the vote. In that stalemate, Johnson surfaced as the compromise figure who ultimately became the House speaker.
Trump quiet on election results
Tuesday’s results left Trump hiding out in his private residence in the White House in the wake of a humiliating verdict on his last two years in office.
“It’s very, very dark in the residence,” one senior official told The Daily Mail of the mood, as top advisors and allies gathered for a watch party in the East Room. “It’s a dark scene.”
Another source close to the president told the newspaper that Trump had gone silent by 11 p.m., incensed by the blue wave sweeping away his strongholds.
“He’s watching Fox News barely uttering a word and paralyzed into silence,” the source said, as the president took to social media to blame the network for giving too much airtime to his opponents.
Trump’s initial response to the results had been to blame the candidates themselves, before posting a picture of a MAGA-style red hat with “VETO” written on it. Despite the disastrous results, the White House still put out a defiant message to the public on social media Wednesday morning.
“PSA: TRUMP IS STILL YOUR PRESIDENT,” the official White House account posted on social media Wednesday morning, accompanied by an ominous-looking photograph of Trump staring down the lens, leaning on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office with his fists.
The president is pulling a similar expression to his infamous 2023 mug shot when he was arrested on charges to overturn the 2020 election result.
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