House Majority Leader Steve Scalise will run for minority leader

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) will run for minority leader, setting up what will likely be a contentious contest against House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) for the position.

A source familiar with Scalise’s plans shared them with The Hill, swiftly following news that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told staff on Wednesday morning he would not run for the post .

Scalise served as House minority whip from 2019 to 2022, when Democrats controlled the House, before ascending as majority leader in 2023 after Republicans won the lower chamber back. He has been one of Johnson’s closest allies, serving as his right-hand man in navigating the divisions within the House GOP conference and advancing President Trump’s legislative agenda.

Scalise initially won the Republican nomination to be Speaker in 2023, beating Jordan in a secret ballot vote. But he withdrew from the race when it became clear he would not win enough support from his conference to get the votes needed on the House floor.

He wrote in a letter to his Republican colleagues on Wednesday that “last night’s election was far worse than any of us expected.”

“We fought hard and left it all on the field, but clearly, we were unable to defy history,” Scalise said. “Despite all we accomplished together, we will now find ourselves in the minority along with losing some incredible friends and public servants…it is more important now than ever for us to emerge from this stronger and united because the stakes couldn’t be higher,” he said.

Scalise warned that “socialists are coming to Washington with a radical agenda that threatens the America we hold dear,” and that he’s running for minority leader to lead Republicans back to the majority.

“They will stop at nothing to undo the progress we’ve made alongside President Trump over the last two years,” Scalise wrote. “The House Republican Conference must be the first line of defense in this crucial battle, and we must fight like our way of life depends on it – because it does.”