House Republicans to vote on minority leader Tuesday

House Republicans will vote on Tuesday to choose their next minority leader after suffering heavy losses in last week's elections. The contest pits Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana against Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Scalise, 61, has held leadership roles since 2014, including party whip and majority leader. He survived a shooting at a congressional baseball practice in 2017 and was treated for multiple myeloma in 2023. He told colleagues that overcoming adversity is nothing new to him.

Jordan, 62, co-founded the House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman. He has led the Judiciary Committee for four years and argues that Republicans must play offense rather than defense to win elections.

Both men previously ran for speaker after Kevin McCarthy was removed from the post more than three years ago, but neither won. Mike Johnson eventually became speaker and is now stepping aside from leadership.

The winner will lead a historically small Republican conference as Democrats hold power. Regaining the majority in 2028 is expected to be difficult given the scale of Democratic victories in the midterms.

President Donald Trump has not publicly taken a position in the race. Lawmakers will gather in the morning, with the vote expected in the afternoon.