The Republican defeat has opened a contest to decide who leads the party in the House minority, while Mike Johnson leaves leadership but keeps his seat in Congress.
Johnson’s decision followed a midterm wipeout in which Republicans lost their House majority. Before the vote, he had repeatedly expressed confidence that the party could overcome the usual midterm pattern and retain control.
Johnson rose to the speakership in October 2023, after Republican infighting brought down his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy had held the office for only 10 months, and Johnson emerged as a compromise choice.
As speaker, Johnson managed one of the narrowest House majorities in the chamber’s history. Passing legislation required near-unanimous Republican backing.
He had set out the scale of the electoral task in his own terms. “From the first day of this election, we knew that to keep the House and sustain our majority, we would have to defy more than a century of midterm history. It's only happened twice in 90 years that a sitting president has picked up or held seats for his party in that first two-year cycle.”
On Tuesday, Republicans lost their majority and Johnson won a sixth House term. Democrats were on course for their strongest House result since 2008, when Barack Obama’s coattails helped the party win 257 seats.
Johnson told staff in a Wednesday meeting at the Capitol that he would seek neither the minority leadership nor any other leadership post in the next Congress.
Democrats are expected to hold a majority of around 75 seats, giving them room to manoeuvre that Johnson did not have as speaker. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who has spent four years as minority leader, is expected to become the next speaker when Democrats take control in January. He would be the first Black lawmaker elected to the post.
The Republican leadership race is already under way. Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman from Ohio, and Steve Scalise, the House majority leader from Louisiana, launched bids on Wednesday. Both had previously failed in bids for the speakership after McCarthy’s ouster.
August Pfluger of Texas, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, told colleagues by letter that he would run for the second-ranking Republican position. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the House majority whip, is positioned to compete with Pfluger.
Republicans are scheduled to elect their leaders on 10 November.
Johnson worked closely with the Trump administration during his speakership. President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday, “we'll stay out of it,” when asked about the leadership contest, and praised Johnson’s tenure.
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