House Republicans picked Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday to lead them into the minority, 106-73 over Majority Leader Steve Scalise in a secret ballot a week after a midterm wipeout handed Democrats their biggest House majority in decades, CBS reported. The Ohio Republican sold himself to colleagues as the man to take the incoming majority's investigations head on.
Congratulations Jim Jordan, House Minority Leader-elect. pic.twitter.com/UyM5LOro0a
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) November 10, 2026
"I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," Jordan wrote in a Nov. 4 letter to members, the day after the election. He told them what to expect: "Each Democrat-led committee will turn their full attention to investigating every facet of the Administration and private entities across the country."
His pitch was that playing defense had already failed.
"In these next two years, our job cannot be merely to spotlight how radical this new Democrat party is - offense, not defense, wins elections," he wrote. "For too long, we have operated without a clear plan to survive the hour or the day in front of us. That will not cut it against an emboldened and energetic Democrat majority."
After the vote he took no questions, saying
