Key facts
- Johnson will not run for House minority leader, a source said, after Republicans lost the House majority on November 3, 2026.
- Johnson had said he would not seek to remain GOP leader following the party's election defeat, Bloomberg reported.
- Fox News reported on Wednesday that Jim Jordan planned an effort to oust Johnson and take the minority leader position.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson will not run for election as House minority leader, a source said on November 4, 2026, after Republicans lost their House majority in the November 3 midterm elections.
Johnson had already said he will not seek to remain GOP leader following the party's defeat, Bloomberg reported. The reports did not give the size of the Republican loss or say when Johnson reached the decision. A separate Fox News report on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter, said Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, chair of the House judiciary committee, was planning an effort to oust Johnson and take the minority leader position.
Jordan previously sought the House Republicans' top job after Kevin McCarthy, the previous Republican speaker, lost the position in 2023, but failed to win enough votes from members of the chamber, according to the report.
Johnson's decision leaves the position of highest-ranking House Republican open to whichever member of the party can claim it. The reports named no candidates and gave no timetable for a leadership vote.