Johnson won’t seek House GOP leadership as Thune plans to seek another term as Senate Republican leader

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will not seek to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., plans to seek another term as his party’s leader after Republicans lost control of both chambers in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. 

Johnson informed his staff of his decision during a Nov. 4 call, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. His decision opens a contest for minority leader. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has announced his candidacy, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is expected to run.

In a letter dated Nov. 4 cited by CBS News, Jordan announced his candidacy, telling colleagues that he knows “the Democrats’ playbook” and knows “what it will take to lead our Conference in the minority, to stay unified, and to coordinate and calibrate our response to the Democrats’ tactics.” 

“This is a staggering day for our Conference,” Jordan wrote, according to CBS News. “For too long, we have operated without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us. That will not cut it against an emboldened and energetic Democrat majority.”

The next Republican House leader will help shape the party’s response to Democratic legislation and congressional investigations while working to regain the majority in 2028.

>> Democrats take House and Senate in heated midterm races <<

Another leadership contest is taking shape for Republican whip, the position responsible for counting votes and building support for the party’s legislative priorities. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., plans to seek the post in the next Congress, facing a challenge from Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, according to Fox News.

Pfluger, who chairs the Republican Study Committee, announced his bid in a letter to colleagues cited by Fox News, saying that he is “running for Republican Whip because I believe that I am capable and can be trusted to implement the changes this team needs.”

“The American people have spoken,” Pfluger wrote, according to Fox News. “Facing this new reality, we are going to fight to win every recount, and our priority must be crafting a strategy to win back the majority.”

Thune seeks to remain Senate GOP leader despite criticism from conservatives

In the Senate, Thune plans to seek another term as Republican leader, according to a source close to him cited by the Washington Examiner. If reelected, he would serve as minority leader in the next Congress.

Thune defended the Senate GOP’s record in a Nov. 3 X post after the polls closed, pointing to border security measures, tax legislation, Cabinet confirmations, and judicial appointments.

“As we head into 2027, Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we’ve done,” he wrote. “Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism. We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream.”

Thune nevertheless faced criticism from conservatives who accused him of failing to advance Trump-backed priorities like the SAVE America Act, an election integrity measure that would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and photo identification to cast a ballot. The measure passed the House multiple times but stalled in the Senate.

“Reminder: We have John Thune to thank for not passing the SAVE America Act and securing our elections earlier,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote in a Nov. 3 X post.

In a Nov. 4 commentary for The Federalist, Shawn Fleetwood called on Senate Republican leaders to resign. He argued that they had failed to deliver on conservative priorities, including passing election legislation, repealing the Affordable Care Act, curbing federal spending, and limiting judicial overreach.

He wrote that Thune and “his band of misfits haven’t done — to put it mildly — jack squat.” 

“If the Republican ‘leaders’ of the Senate had any shame at all after Tuesday’s results,” he added, “they’d resign their posts for GOP senators who actually agree with their voters and will work to do right by them.”