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After a bruising defeat for Republicans, House Speaker Mike Johnson does not plan to stay on as Republican leader in the new Congress, according to a source familiar with his plans who was not authorized to discuss them publicly.
The Louisiana Republican served two terms as speaker, elected after his predecessor, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, was ousted in 2023.
Johnson's decision will open a role for the top House leadership position in the minority. Republicans are scheduled to hold their leadership elections on Nov. 10.
Historically, the president's party loses seats in midterm elections. The blue wave soared past the expectations of many in Washington, flipping seats in traditionally red states that the president has won previously.
Johnson nodded to that history in remarks Tuesday night.
"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. It's only happened twice in 90 years that a sitting president has picked up or held seats for his party in that first two-year cycle. There's a lot of reasons for it. It's very, very difficult to overcome, and it looks like history will be kept tonight," he said.
Johnson worked closely with the Trump administration throughout his tenure as speaker, and endured the balancing act of trying to keep his conference united with the narrowest of majorities. His razor thin majority meant even one Republican defection meant GOP priorities were at risk.
That dynamic will not be replicated for the presumptive next House Speaker, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York. While there are a handful of lawmakers elected with support of the Democratic Socialists of America, eager to push the party further to the left, the comfortable margin for Jeffries means he will likely be able to achieve his priorities, even with defections.
His speakership would be history making — he would be the first Black lawmaker elected to the position.
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