Mike Johnson to step aside as House Republican leader next Congress after election defeat
Johnson plans to leave leadership
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, does not intend to continue as Republican leader in the new Congress, a source familiar with his plans said. The source was not authorized to discuss the plans publicly.
Johnson served two terms as speaker after California Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted in 2023. His departure will create an opening for the leading House Republican in the minority, with party leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 10.
Election defeat reshapes House
Republicans suffered a bruising loss as a Democratic wave exceeded many Washington expectations, flipping seats in traditionally Republican states that President Trump had previously won. The outcome followed a pattern in which the president’s party loses seats in midterm elections.
Johnson said Republicans had known that holding the House would require overcoming more than a century of midterm history. He noted that a sitting president’s party had gained or held seats in the first two-year cycle only twice in 90 years, and said it appeared the historical pattern would continue.
A different balance for Jeffries
Johnson worked closely with the Trump administration while trying to keep his party united in the House. Republicans’ narrow majority meant even one defection could put party priorities at risk.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is the presumptive next House speaker. Democrats are expected to have a more comfortable margin, though a handful of lawmakers elected with Democratic Socialists of America support want to move the party further left. If elected, Jeffries would become the first Black lawmaker to serve as speaker.
Key points
- Johnson does not plan to remain the top House Republican in the next Congress.
- Republicans will hold leadership elections on Nov. 10.
- Johnson served two terms as speaker after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster in 2023.
- Hakeem Jeffries is the presumptive next speaker and could make history as the first Black lawmaker in the role.