Republicans elect Jim Jordan as House minority leader, keep John Thune as Senate leader 

House Republicans elected Rep. Jim Jordan, a founding member of the conservative Freedom Caucus and an ally of President Donald Trump, Tuesday as minority leader for the next Congress. 

The Ohio representative and current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has a reputation as a hard-liner and staunch fighter. The GOP is seeking a change in leadership following sweeping midterm losses. Jordan reportedly defeated sitting Majority Leader Steve Scalise in a secret ballot vote, 106-73. He will replace outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson as the party’s leader after Johnson opted to step down from leadership.

For other top GOP leadership roles, Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain won reelection as House Republican Conference chair, and Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer won the House minority whip position. McClain will lead the party’s messaging, while Emmer will be responsible for enforcing party discipline on votes.

“Over the next two years, House Republicans will fight for American families. When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom,” Jordan said at a press conference following the election. “And we will bring that fight in committee, on the floor and on the stump every single day.”

Republicans in the Freedom Caucus praised Jordan following the election. Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas called him a “fighter and a convicted conservative.”

“He’s the original congressional brawler and is exactly what our Conference needs to lead us back to the majority. I’m proud to have supported him,” Gill wrote.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy said, “Jim’s the right guy at the right time.”

“Democrats are going to throw everything they have at the president, at this administration, at Republicans,” Roy told Fox News, adding that Jordan knows how to fight back “rhetorically and legally.”

Roy said the House elections sent a signal that the House GOP “heard the American people” during the midterms, that “we understand the consequences of the election” and that the party needed to shift its leadership direction.

“Contrast the Senate with the House, Mike Johnson stepped aside, Mike Johnson said ‘look we had a bad election, I’m going to move on, let’s let some new folks come in,’” Roy said. “The Senate, they just stuck with business as usual. I’ve got some real issues with that.”

Senate Republicans, who also held leadership elections Tuesday, largely kept the same slate in place. Current leader Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, was reelected by acclamation, while Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, was elected chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is responsible for electing Republicans and orchestrating campaign fundraising. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, was reelected as Senate Conference chair.

Thune said Republicans “remain united in our commitment to advancing conservative priorities, working with President Trump and our colleagues in the House, and holding the line against Democrats’ efforts to enact their far-left, liberal agenda.”

Thune was reelected as the party’s Senate leader despite pushback from some Republican senators who wanted to delay the vote, given the depth of the midterm losses, Politico reported. Republicans have lost at least seven seats and are trailing in two races – Mississippi and Alaska – that have yet to be called.

At a press conference, Thune said Republican senators would work with Democrats when possible while remaining committed to advancing conservative priorities.

“We took a big electoral defeat,” Thune acknowledged, adding that his party would “come out swinging and realize that we’ve got a lot of work to be done to get back into the majority.”