When House Republicans met behind closed doors on Tuesday to choose their next leader, they picked a fighter who won’t back down from the radical Left.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, defeated Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) 106-73 to become House minority leader, according to sources in the room. Insiders had predicted a close race. The final tally said otherwise, and loud, sustained applause carried into the hallway once the result became official.
BREAKING: Rep. Jim Jordan (OH) has BEAT out Rep. Steve Scalise (LA) to become the Republican House Minority Leader in the next Congress — winning the secret ballot 106 to 73. https://t.co/dgSBrQzT7G
— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) November 10, 2026
Let’s be honest here. The GOP needed a reset.
Republicans suffered historic losses in state and federal races last week, giving up ground in both the House and the Senate. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) responded by stepping aside, and he won’t seek any leadership post for the next two years. That left incumbents and members-elect projected to win their races with a real choice about the conference’s direction.
Because the ballot was secret, nobody had to reveal a vote, making Jordan’s comfortable margin even more telling. Members voted their gut, and their gut wanted change.
At a candidate forum Tuesday morning, both men pitched themselves as the best choice to unite the conference. The session stayed mostly cordial. Members asked how each would bring Republicans together after the midterm defeats and how each would handle leaks to the press. Jordan said the forum went well but declined to discuss what happened inside. One attendee said both candidates signaled that members could “vote their districts,” which gives lawmakers wide room to break from leadership when they need to.
“I personally like Steve, but he’s been in leadership since before I was in Congress,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said. “And Jim Jordan, while he’s a leader in Congress, he hasn’t been part of the leadership team. He basically rose through the ranks because he was super effective.”
Before the vote, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) pointed to how Senate deals had played out in the House.
“When the Senate wanted to get their bills passed… they called Scalise and actually brokered backend deals to get these bills passed by suspension, so we had no leverage,” Luna said. “That’s why I’m supporting Jim Jordan.”
.@RepLuna (R-FL) on House Minority Leader election: “When the Senate wanted to get their bills passed…they called Scalise and actually brokered backend deals to get these bills passed by suspension, so we had no leverage. That’s why I’m supporting Jim Jordan.” https://t.co/ptdiGXmJIz
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 10, 2026
Here’s why Jordan fits this moment. He helped lead the House Freedom Caucus in its early days, and over the past decade he has become one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal defenders. Democrats are already gearing up to investigate Trump’s Cabinet, family, and business interests. Jordan now leads the response, and Republicans could hardly ask for a sharper counterpuncher. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), a Jordan ally, said Jordan “understands what we’re up against.”
“His ability to communicate is really kind of unrivaled by anybody else in the House right now,” Fitzgerald added.
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Jordan also plans to do more than play defense.
“In these next two years, our job cannot be merely to spotlight how radical this new Democrat party is—offense, not defense, wins elections,” he wrote in a letter making his case to fellow Republicans. “Republican policies prioritize making Americans’ neighborhoods safer, keeping more money in their pockets, and protecting enduring American values and freedoms.”
If you needed proof this is good news, Democrats and their allies aren’t happy about it.
Stephen Miller and Jim Jordan.
Republicans learned absolutely nothing from what happened a week ago, and are responding by elevating their most extreme voices to positions of power. https://t.co/HpcjdrZIDd
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) November 10, 2026
NEWS: The GOP’s first big decision since their midterm shellacking was to double down on extremism, electing far-right Jim Jordan as their new leader. https://t.co/6quzR2u31d
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) November 10, 2026
It’s official. Jim Jordan, the leader of the Chaos Caucus, will be running the GOP. Republicans have doubled down on MAGA after getting hammered in the Election, showing they’ve not only learned nothing but also the magnitude of their contempt for the voters who delivered the…
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) November 10, 2026
Sorry, but the people cheering every Republican defeat don’t get to write the GOP’s comeback plan. The Left wants a timid minority that apologizes, cuts deals, and stays quiet while Democrats turn their gavels on the president. Jordan knows how to “fight, fight, fight” for the country and against the Left, and that’s exactly what has his critics so rattled.
Editor’s Note: Every single day, here at PJ Media, we stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical Left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.
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