Speaker Mike Johnson won’t run for minority leader, setting up GOP battle

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on a staff call Wednesday that he will not run for minority leader, according to two GOP staffers, heading off what will likely be a bitter fight over the party’s future in the next Congress as Republicans reel from a seismic election defeat .

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are both expected to launch bids for minority leader, setting up a potentially contentious contest as Republicans grapple with their diminished standing .

Johnson has had a rocky tenure as Speaker, often marked by internal GOP fighting, a razor-thin margin and repeated challenges in keeping his conference united over government funding, the Iran war and other issues.

He was first elected to Congress in 2016, and he was elected as Speaker in 2023, succeeding former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Before taking on that role, he served as the vice chair of the House Republican Conference.