House Speaker Mike Johnson told staff on Wednesday morning that he will not seek to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, ending a three-year run as the party’s leader in the House a day after Democrats seized control of the chamber in the midterm elections. The Mike Johnson steps down decision opens an immediate contest for the minority leader’s job, with Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan both already running.
Johnson announced the decision on an all-staff call on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg Government, and his spokesman confirmed it to the Agence France-Presse in a one-word email: “Accurate.” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, will remain speaker until the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027, when the gavel is expected to pass to Democrats.
The announcement reverses the position Johnson signalled before the election. He had said in October that he intended to remain as the party’s leader if Republicans lost control of the House, but he also fuelled speculation about his future, telling reporters at the time: “If heaven forbid, if we lose this majority or whatever, I don’t know what my next chapter of life is. I’m just open to it.”
A one-word confirmation
Johnson, 54, had led the House since October 2023, when he emerged as a compromise choice after weeks of infighting that followed the ouster of his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, in the first removal of a speaker in American history. He became the 56th speaker of the House after three weeks in which the chamber was leaderless.
On Tuesday night, at an election-night gathering in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, Johnson conceded that the House was lost. In a post on X just after 1 a.m. Eastern, he thanked voters in Louisiana’s 4th District, called the incoming Democratic majority “the most radical and extreme leftists in American history,” and promised that “come 2028, we WILL take back the House.”
In a letter to colleagues obtained by Axios, Johnson cited family as his reason for stepping aside, writing that “the time has come for me to give them more of the attention and presence they so richly deserve.” The letter, notably, never mentions the election defeat.
The decision does not mean Johnson is resigning as speaker or leaving Congress. He won reelection to his Louisiana seat on Tuesday and is expected to return in January as a rank-and-file member of the House, a far quieter role than the one he has held for three years.
The race to replace him
The contest to succeed Johnson opened immediately. House Republicans are scheduled to elect their new leader on Tuesday, November 10, when members-elect gather in Washington, with candidates required to declare their intentions by noon on Friday, November 6.
Steve Scalise, Johnson’s No. 2 and a fellow Louisianan, announced his bid in a letter that called the election “far worse than any of us expected.” Jim Jordan, the Judiciary chairman and a former Freedom Caucus founder, announced he was running too, pitching himself as the candidate who knows “the Democrats’ playbook.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota told colleagues he would run for whip in the minority, rounding out a leadership slate that will be chosen by a conference still reeling from its losses. Both Scalise and Jordan reached for the top job before, and their contest is expected to be a familiar showdown between the party’s establishment and conservative wings.
Johnson spent recent months travelling the country for Republican candidates, and the scale of Tuesday’s defeat left him without a path to power. Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate, ending the Republican governing trifecta in Washington, and CBS News projected that Democrats will take control of the House in January with a wide majority.
Jeffries in line for the gavel
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York is in line to become speaker when the new Congress convenes in January. Jeffries formally sought his colleagues’ support on Wednesday to become the next speaker, a post he is widely expected to win when the new Congress convenes. The election for speaker is among the first votes of the new Congress on January 3, 2027.
Jeffries would be the first Black speaker of the House, according to NPR, and the speaker stands second in the line of presidential succession. He has faced some resistance from his left flank, but his path to the gavel is clear given the size of the Democratic majority. NBC News projected Democrats could hold as many as 258 House seats to 177 for Republicans, though final seat totals remain unconfirmed.
The incoming Democratic majority has already signalled an aggressive agenda, including investigations of the Trump administration and the war with Iran. CNN reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could face an impeachment vote in the House as soon as next week, a prospect that would have been unthinkable before Tuesday.
What Johnson’s exit means
Johnson’s departure closes a chapter that began in chaos. He took the gavel after House Republicans spent three weeks deadlocked over McCarthy’s successor, and he held the conference together through a narrow majority, a war in Iran, and a midterm campaign in which his party lost both chambers.
In a statement posted overnight, Johnson acknowledged a seismic defeat for the Republican Party and said a new battle was just beginning. “Republicans will never stop fighting to defend the Constitution and protect the foundations that have made America the greatest nation in the history of the world,” he wrote, according to USA Today. “We will continue pressing forward with our agenda of common sense, and our vision to make America great again.”
The vote on November 10 will settle who leads House Republicans into the minority. Johnson will hand over the gavel on January 3 and is expected to return to the back benches, leaving the party to rebuild under new leadership.