Johnson will not seek House Republican leader post; Jordan and Scalise run for it, Jeffries announces for speaker

House Republicans are scheduled to hold leadership elections Tuesday, Nov. 10, CQ-Roll Call and The Center Square reported, after Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said he will not seek a leadership post in the next Congress.¹² Democrats won control of the House in the Nov. 3 election, The Associated Press reported.³

Johnson told his staff Wednesday morning and confirmed the decision in a letter to House Republicans that Axios obtained first, Newsweek reported. “Serving as your Speaker has been the greatest professional honor of my life,” he wrote, according to Newsweek.⁴ He is expected to stay in the House as a rank-and-file member, the AP reported.³

The race for Republican leader

Each candidate sent a letter to colleagues Wednesday.⁵⁶ Candidates are listed alphabetically.

• \1 “Direct communication with the American people will be our greatest tool,” he wrote, The Center Square reported. He also wrote that he is “battle-tested on the oversight front.”²
• \1 “My number one goal as Republican Leader will be to win back the majority,” he wrote. He also wrote that Republicans should “make substantive changes to the way our conference operates.”⁶

Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the whip, and Rep. August Pfluger of Texas are seeking the whip post, The Washington Sun reported.⁷ Votes for leader, whip and conference chair are planned for the afternoon of Nov. 10, after a morning candidate forum, CQ-Roll Call reported Oct. 30.¹

Jeffries and the speaker vote

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced his candidacy in a letter dated Nov. 4, writing to “humbly request your support in connection with my candidacy.” The letter says the first 100 days should “reverse the Medicaid cuts, restore SNAP funding, extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.”⁸

House Democrats are expected to hold caucus leadership elections this month, The Washington Post reported.⁵ The new Congress meets Jan. 3, 2027, and electing a speaker is one of its first votes, the AP reported.³

The calendar

• \1 Congress returns for a lame-duck session, HNGN reported. Congress Countdown, citing the House majority leader's calendar and the Senate's schedule, lists that Monday for both chambers.⁹¹⁰
• \1 Section 106 of Division A of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, Public Law 119-103, makes the stopgap funds available until Dec. 11, 2026, unless full-year appropriations are enacted first.¹¹ President Donald Trump signed the bill, H.R. 6500, on Sept. 2, the White House said.¹²

The Senate

Senate Republicans are also scheduled to hold leadership elections Nov. 10, CQ-Roll Call reported.¹ Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, was expected to seek another term as Republican leader, Punchbowl News reported Wednesday.¹³ He will run for minority leader, Roll Call reported later that day, citing a spokesperson for his office.¹⁴

“I’ll be reelected as majority leader,” Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, said Wednesday, Roll Call reported. It said the Senate Democratic leadership election will likely be held in early December.¹⁵

What the records do not show

• We could not open Johnson's letter or Axios's reports. His words and the letter's contents are as Newsweek reported them.
• We read Scalise's and Jeffries' letters directly. We did not find Jordan's letter; his words are as The Center Square reported them.
• The House Clerk's site and the House floor schedule site did not open, and congress.gov refused automated reading. The majority leader's online calendar showed no events when we opened it, so the Nov. 9 date rests on HNGN and Congress Countdown.
• No vote for these posts has taken place, and no record we opened gives a tally of support.