House Speaker Mike Johnson has told his staff he will not seek re-election as the top House Republican leader in the next Congress, a day after Democrats swept back to power in the midterm elections. The decision was reported on Wednesday by the Associated Press, NBC News and USA Today, citing people familiar with Johnson’s plans who spoke on condition of anonymity. Johnson informed his staff of the decision on a call on Wednesday morning.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, won re-election in his own district on Tuesday, but his party lost its House majority — and its Senate majority — in a midterm rout that ended unified Republican control in Washington. He will remain Speaker until the new Congress convenes on 3 January 2027, when Democrats are expected to elect their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, to the post.
Johnson rose to the speakership from relative obscurity in October 2023, after Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy, and went on to steer one of the slimmest House majorities in modern history. A close ally of President Donald Trump, he had insisted before the election that Republicans would defy the usual midterm pattern and hold the House. Instead, voters punished the president’s party, leaving Johnson without a path to power in the chamber he has led for three years.
His departure sets up a contest for the Republican leadership in the minority. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio are the two names most often mentioned, and both have sought the top job before. Jordan has already written to colleagues arguing that Republicans need a clear plan to withstand an emboldened Democratic majority, warning that Democrat-led committees will turn their attention to investigating the administration. House Republicans are expected to choose their new leader when members-elect gather in Washington next week.
Johnson is not expected to resign from Congress, according to people familiar with his thinking, even though the past five Republican speakers all retired or resigned after losing or giving up the gavel. That break with precedent, if it holds, would leave a former speaker sitting as a rank-and-file member while his successor tries to rebuild a party that has just lost both chambers.
The leadership fight matters beyond Capitol Hill procedure. With Democrats controlling Congress for the final two years of Trump’s presidency, the next Republican leader will shape how the party opposes Democratic investigations and legislation, and how it prepares for the 2028 elections. Johnson, in a statement after the defeat, vowed Republicans would keep fighting and retake the House in 2028.
Sources: Associated Press reporting via Now Georgia (https://nowgeorgia.com/speaker-johnson-wont-seek-reelection-as-house-republican-leader-after-partys-midterm-wipeout/), USA Today (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/11/04/house-speaker-mike-johnson-gop-leadership/92609302007/), and the Shreveport Times (https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2026/11/04/speaker-mike-johnson-wont-seek-house-leadership-spot-after-blue-wave/92609636007/). Note: Johnson’s decision is reported by sources familiar with his plans; no public statement from Johnson himself had been published at the time of writing.
