Mike Johnson will not run for House Republican minority leader in the next U.S. Congress, according to sources cited by CBS News and Politico, as reported by HotNews.

The Speaker of the House, a congressman from Louisiana, told his staff privately on Wednesday morning that he intends to step back, two people familiar with the discussion told Politico.

Current House majority leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan are seen as potential candidates to lead the coming Republican minority.

A Republican adviser told CBS News that the party plans to hold that election on November 10, a week after midterm elections that delivered a Democratic victory and control of the next Congress.

Johnson told staff he spoke with President Donald Trump before announcing the decision, Politico sources said. He did not say clearly whether he plans to serve in the new Congress or leave his seat.

In the weeks before the vote, Johnson had floated staying on as minority leader if Republicans lost the majority, though many colleagues thought that unlikely. In an October 8 Fox News interview he suggested he might return to Shreveport and open a lawn-care business if Republicans lost the House.

Johnson entered Congress in 2016 and became Speaker in October 2023 after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster; he was re-elected Speaker in 2025.

Source consulted: Mike Johnson will no longer lead House Republicans. Decision announced after a talk with Trump — HotNews.

Image: Donald Trump and Mike Johnson, March 2026 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain).

Sources consulted: Mike Johnson will no longer lead House Republicans. Decision announced after a talk with Trump — HotNews.