Republicans in the US House of Representatives have picked Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio as their new minority leader, just one week after the party lost its majority in the midterm elections.
In a secret ballot held on Tuesday, Jordan won the backing of fellow Republicans to replace Mike Johnson as the chamber’s highest-ranking Republican. He had competed for the role with current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.
Republicans regroup after bruising midterm defeat
The vote comes after a difficult election in which Democrats flipped at least 40 seats nationwide. Republicans now have to decide how to move forward after the loss.
Also read: Democrats Win US Senate Control in 2026 Midterm Elections
The post carries a heavy workload. The new leader will help the party message against what is expected to be at least two years of Democrat-led investigations into the administration of President Donald Trump. The role also includes helping to select the party’s 2028 presidential nominee.
In a letter to his colleagues before the vote, Jordan described himself as a “battle-tested” leader ready for those demands. He wrote that leading in the minority would require keeping the conference unified and calibrating its response to Democratic tactics, and he called for a team that is active, engaged and forward-thinking.
Jordan’s record as a Trump ally and investigator
Jordan, a top Trump ally, has long been an influential voice in the Republican caucus. He cofounded the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a group that has frustrated many former and current party leaders and blocked legislation backed by the party.
Andy Harris, the group’s chairman, congratulated Jordan after the vote. He called him “a fierce fighter, uniter, principled conservative, and relentless advocate for the American people.” In a statement, Harris said Jordan was exactly the right person to push back against what he described as the radical, crazy agenda of Democrats.
As chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jordan has argued that the government has been weaponised against Trump. He has led the panel’s investigations into former special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, both of whom unsuccessfully prosecuted the president. Republican Congressman Brandon Gill, a panel ally, praised the selection on social media, calling Jordan “the original congressional brawler.”
Denials over past allegations at Ohio State
Jordan once worked as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University. He had faced allegations that he knew about sexual abuse of student-athletes by the team’s physician, Dr Richard Strauss, between 1978 and 1998. Jordan has denied the allegations.
He also made a short-lived bid for House Speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role in 2023. Since then, he has taken a less adversarial approach and aligned himself with Johnson and other members of the current House Republican leadership.
McCarthy, who spoke on a podcast after the midterm results, offered advice to the incoming leader. He told his former aides on Glory, Grief and the Gavel that “You can’t just play it day by day,” and said the party needed a clear strategy. He also urged Republicans to acknowledge what happened in the election, saying they had to tell voters that it would take time to earn their trust again.
