Congress
Steve Scalise launches minority leader run, promising ‘consensus-driven’ approach
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he will run for the top GOP leadership post in the aftermath of his party’s devastating midterm losses.
In a letter sent to fellow House Republicans, Scalise highlighted the need for unity and a “clear vision and agenda.”
“I am ready to lead on day one and chart our path back to the majority,” he wrote.
The Louisianan, who has served as the GOP’s No. 2 or No. 3 leader for more than a decade, was long expected to jump into the race, given his longtime ambitions and robust campaigning and fundraising for fellow GOP lawmakers and candidates.
He made his announcement after Speaker Mike Johnson, whom Scalise helped propel from back-bench obscurity, said Wendesday morning he would not seek a leadership position in the upcoming Congress.
Scalise will face Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chair who announced his bid for the position earlier Wednesday, arguing he was a “battle-tested” leader ready to take on the new Democratic majority.
Scalise has been House majority leader since 2023. In 2017, during his time as House majority whip, he was seriously wounded by a would-be assassin who attacked Republican lawmakers who were practicing for the annual congressional baseball game.
After then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in 2023, Scalise made a bid for the gavel but faced skepticism from the hard right and was ultimately unable to secure enough votes.
He won a majority in an internal GOP conference vote, but a group of holdouts refused to support him during the public floor vote in a bid to elevate Jordan. This time, Scalise would only need a majority vote in the GOP conference to be elected minority leader.
Scalise pointed to his past leadership and played up his credibility — after some members criticized Johnson for seeming to make contradictory promises to different blocs of the conference.
“I am always honest about our challenges but work to solve them in the most conservative and consensus-driven way possible,” he said. “That’s what you’ve come to expect from me and that will be more important than ever in the next two years.”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he’s staying out of the race for House minority leader.
Sitting Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan have both announced runs following Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to step aside, and both are close allies of Trump. The president told reporters he’s not choosing sides.
“We’ll stay out of it,” he said, then briefly mentioning Jordan. “But the speaker was fantastic. The people under him were fantastic. All good people. I guess right now you have two candidates, right?”
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), the chair of the GOP’s House campaign arm, conceded his race for reelection, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, granted anonymity to share not yet public details.
The Associated Press has not yet called the race. But the decision is a stark sign of just how far the country shifted left: The person responsible for getting House Republicans elected this cycle is accepting defeat in a district President Donald Trump carried by almost 16 points just two years ago.
He called Democrat Richard Ojeda to concede, the two people said.
This would be the first time ever a chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee has lost in a general election. In 1992, the NRCC chair lost in a primary.
North Carolina Republicans felt the pressure leading up to Election Day, with worries about a massive win by Roy Cooper in the Senate race likely endangering a slew of once safely red House seats like Hudson’s and others.
Ojeda, a veteran who lost a Senate race in West Virginia in 2020, was drastically outspent by Hudson. But in a sign that Democrats thought they could flip the seat, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw $130,000 behind Ojeda last week.
Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan asked GOP colleagues Wednesday to reelect her as Republican conference chair, the No. 3 House leadership position, promising to “get back in the fight” after Tuesday’s sweeping losses.
In a letter obtained first by POLITICO, she said Republicans must “drive the national conversation” and “make sure the American people know what’s at stake” as Democrats take control of the House.
“We must also make sure every member has the tools and platforms to aggressively take the fight to the Democrats,” she wrote. “I know our members, understand the challenges facing their districts, and have built relationships and a communications operation ready to serve you immediately.”
McClain has held the conference chair position, which is traditionally focused on party messaging and internal member organizing, for the past two years. With Speaker Mike Johnson stepping aside as Republicans move into the minority, staying as chair would mean taking a step up the party leadership ladder.
“The Chair’s job is not to build a personal brand. It’s to elevate yours,” she said in the letter. “I represent a deep-red district in a purple state and understand that what works in one district may not work in another. I’ll make sure you have the resources, messages, and platforms to reach your constituents and bring your voice to a national audience.”
No other candidate has formally emerged but some Republicans want Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida to challenge McClain. The two ran against each other for the position in 2024, with McClain more than doubling Cammack’s support.
Republicans have until noon Friday to declare their candidacy. Leadership elections are scheduled to begin Tuesday after Congress returns to Washington.
McClain raised over $8.5 million this cycle, with $3.5 million given to other House Republicans.
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