House GOP faces leadership scramble after midterm romp

A battle for who will lead House Republicans for the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency broke out mere hours after the party lost its majority, setting the stage for a major shake-up of the party’s top brass.House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) will battle it out for the next top Republican spot in the House. Meanwhile, Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) will run against Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) for the vote-counting position.House Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) will seek another term in her position, a source familiar with her plans told the Washington Examiner. It remains unclear if she will face a challenger, but she faced opposition vying for the post after the 2024 elections. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced Wednesday morning that he would not seek the minority leader position in the next Congress, opening the door for Jordan and Scalise to pursue the top Republican leadership post, and avoiding a potential three-way race for the position.A source familiar with Scalise’s plans told the Washington Examiner that he plans to announce his run for minority leader later on Wednesday. Scalise will make the argument that he is a “proven and tested leader who is ready on day one” and that his “number one goal will be to lead the conference back into the majority.”While Scalise has been in leadership for over a decade and amassed a strong network of allies, Jordan’s background as the top Republican on the Judiciary and Oversight Committees could be appealing to the conference, with Democrats signaling they plan to open a slew of investigations into Republicans.In a Dear Colleague letter, Jordan told the GOP conference that he is “battle-tested on the oversight front” and argued that he “knows the Democrats’ playbook.”“I know what it will take to lead our Conference in the minority, to stay unified, and to coordinate and calibrate our response to the Democrats’ tactics,” Jordan wrote. “We need a Leadership team that is active and engaged, forward-thinking and straight-shooting.”Scalise and Jordan’s jockeying for the position comes two years after both men ran for the top Republican spot when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted, but ultimately fell short.Now, the political calculus for both men looks different. The firebrand Jordan has spent the last cycle mending and building relationships with Republican candidates and incumbents across the political spectrum, and Scalise is politically stronger after his time as majority leader.Behind the scenes, Jordan is reportedly getting advice from McCarthy, according to the Washington Sun. The outlet reported that Jordan sought McCarthy’s advice and that the pair has discussed Jordan’s possible leadership bid.“It really seems like Jordan has deepened his relationships throughout the GOP conference. His travel schedule and fundraising abilities certainly haven’t gone unnoticed,” a former senior GOP aide told the Washington Examiner.In the GOP whip race, Pfluger wrote in a Dear Colleague letter that Republicans “left a lot on the table” during their time in the majority.“Championship teams take the time to debrief after every game,” Pfluger wrote. “It is time to regroup, recharge, and fully unify. We need fresh ideas and a leadership team committed to rebuilding a culture with a clear game plan to win in 2028.”MIKE JOHNSON SAYS IT ‘LOOKS LIKE HISTORY WILL BE KEPT’ FOR REPUBLICANS LOSING HOUSE MAJORITYHis argument is shared by at least one House Republican: Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL), who called on the current GOP leadership to “step aside so new leadership can take a truly conservative direction.”“You have been embarrassingly weak and more afraid of governing conservatively than of disappointing the voters who put us in office,” Steube wrote on X, addressing House and Senate GOP leadership. “Instead of standing firm on our principles, you have governed out of fear, continually knelt to the moderates in our conference (who all got crushed last night anyway), and discarded conservatives like me who warned of last night’s results.”