Updated Nov. 4, 2026, 9:46 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON − House Speaker Mike Johnson told staff on Wednesday morning that he would not run for minority leader after Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterm elections, two sources familiar with the announcement said.
Johnson handily won reelection to his Louisiana congressional district. But members of his party lost across the country on an election night that will put Democrats in the majority in the House and Senate in the next legislative session.
Contenders who’ve said they will try to replace Johnson as House leader are fellow Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the current majority leader, and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the current House Judiciary Committee chairman.
“We’ll stay out of it,” President Donald Trump told reporters later in the day. “The speaker was fantastic, the people under him were fantastic, all good people.”
Trump said he did not ask Johnson to step down.
A person familiar with situation said Johnson did not want to get in the way of Scalise’s ambitions. Scalise previously ran for speaker in 2023 but dropped out after he was unable to consolidate Republican support. Johnson went on to become speaker of the House.
Some previous speakers have resigned their seats after stepping down, but Johnson is not expected to quit Congress, a second person familiar with his thinking said. Johnson joked before the midterm election that he could return to his hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn-mowing business if Republicans were defeated. He later said it was a “tongue in cheek” comment.
Johnson previously told USA TODAY during a June 29 interview that he intended to keep “steady hands at the wheel” of GOP leadership after the midterm election.
“I intend to win the election and maintain the speakership. We have a lot more to do, and the last two years of the Trump administration will be just as epic as the first two. I intend to keep steady hands at the wheel,” he said at the time.
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