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Political shake-ups are already underway for Republicans who lost control of both congressional chambers in Washington. Mike Johnson now plans to end his three-year run as House speaker, setting off a race for a replacement to lead Republicans now in the minority. NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales has more.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: In 2023, Mike Johnson's ride to the speakership followed weeks of deadlock and infighting. His win came after four other candidates failed to take the gavel. Here's Johnson in his victory speech.
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MIKE JOHNSON: Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system. This conference that you see, this House Republican majority is united.
GRISALES: As speaker, he navigated a chaotic razor-thin majority but landed major partisan wins with signature legislation such as the One Big Beautiful Bill. The Louisiana Republican also became fast friends with President Trump, and he became a prolific party fundraiser. But this week, reality set in when Democrats took the House majority by a margin of more than a dozen seats.
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JOHNSON: From the first day of this election, we knew that to keep the House and sustain our majority, we would have to defy more than a century of midterm history.
GRISALES: That's Johnson addressing supporters on election night in Shreveport, Louisiana. Johnson told the disappointed crowd it was rare for the president's party to win midterm election seats.
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JOHNSON: There's a lot of reasons for it. It's very, very difficult to overcome. And it looks like history will be kept tonight.
GRISALES: By Wednesday morning, Johnson told his staff he would leave the role in the new year. Now a leadership vote is set for next Tuesday. The candidates include Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House GOP leader, who argues he'll keep his conference united to deliver conservative wins and take back the majority.
Jim Jordan, the Ohio lawmaker who chairs the Judiciary Committee, is also in contention. He says he was battle-tested and he's ready to fight Democrats. In his election night remarks, Johnson revisited one of his favorite quotes from President John Quincy Adams.
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JOHNSON: And he said, duty is ours; results are God's. I've tried my best every single day as speaker and as the campaign leader here to fulfill our duty.
GRISALES: That duty will now fall to a new contender who will test the party's resolve against a Democratic majority focused on investigating republicans and a president who demands fierce loyalty.
Claudia Grisales, NPR News.
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