Speaker Mike Johnson Will Not Seek to Lead House Republicans in the Minority, and Jim Jordan Is Running for the Job, Fox News Reports

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., does not plan to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, Fox News reports, after Democrats took the House.

Johnson. Fox News Digital was told by two sources that Johnson shared the news on an all-staff call Wednesday morning. Fox says it is not clear how far in advance the call was planned. Johnson won the gavel in October 2023, after Kevin McCarthy was ousted. Fox's report says the story is breaking and will be updated.

Jordan. In a separate Fox report, two sources said House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will run for minority leader. Fox says Republicans had expected him to launch a bid if the party lost the majority, and that he has spent months building support and campaigning for candidates across the country. Jordan ran for speaker in October 2023 and did not reach the votes needed. Fox says some moderates who opposed that run accused his allies of an aggressive pressure campaign. It adds that he has since campaigned for some of those same moderates, and that many of the moderates who opposed him lost their seats Tuesday.

Why the job is easier to win. Fox explains that a speaker needs a majority of the whole House, while a minority leader needs only a majority of the party's own members.

The likely rival. Fox says Jordan is likely to face a significant challenge from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., a senior leader and a strong fundraiser. Fox says whoever wins will all but certainly become President Trump's top defender against Democratic investigations and possible impeachment efforts.

Related. Our earlier report covered Sen. John Thune's plan to run for Senate minority leader.

What we could not check. All of this rests on anonymous sources quoted by Fox. We have not seen a statement from Johnson, Jordan or Scalise, and Scalise has not said he is running.