House Speaker Mike Johnson is making it clear he has no plans to step aside, signaling he intends to remain the leader of House Republicans even if the party loses control of the chamber in next Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The Louisiana Republican, who has led the House GOP since 2023, told CBS News earlier this month that he would stay on as leader in what he called the “unlikely scenario” that Republicans lose the House. “I intend to stay and lead,” Johnson said. “That is what’s going to happen.”
Johnson also predicted he would be “the Speaker of the House for at least two more years.”
The remarks came just days after Johnson told Fox News he could return to his hometown of Shreveport and start a lawn business if the GOP lost its majority, a comment that fueled speculation about his retirement. Johnson later described that comment as “tongue in cheek.”
President Trump threw his weight behind the speaker on Monday. “Mike Johnson is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER,” Trump posted on social media, “and he has my Complete and Total endorsement for Re-Election.”
But Johnson’s comments have stirred up the leadership picture inside the GOP conference. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio are both expected to launch bids to lead House Republicans if Democrats flip the chamber, according to GOP lawmakers, aides and strategists. Jordan notably did not seek a waiver to keep his gavel atop the House Judiciary Committee, a move that has fueled chatter that he plans to run.
Scalise, for his part, has declined to engage. “There are no races that any of us need to be talking about until after the election’s over,” he told Axios.
Some Republicans remain skeptical that Johnson would pursue the minority leader post, pointing to former GOP speakers Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy, who all left Capitol Hill shortly after losing the gavel.
“I highly doubt that the Speaker will go for minority leader at this point,” one GOP aide said, adding that Johnson was a “compromise candidate anyway” for speaker.
Another GOP staffer said both Scalise and Jordan would do well in the role, though Scalise might have an easier transition given his current leadership post. The same staffer noted Johnson has “had to deal with a lot of curveballs” and has handled them well.
Johnson has led a razor-thin majority marked by internal fights over government spending, the Iran war and other issues. Still, he has pointed to his fundraising, which Fox News Digital reported has reached $526 million, along with his travel schedule and his work holding together a sometimes volatile conference as reasons he should stay on.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has predicted Johnson’s tenure is nearing its end. “I can say that the American people are about to retire Mike Johnson and the Republican majority in the House and possibly even in the Senate,” Jeffries said.
Much of the leadership picture is expected to come into sharper focus after Election Day.
