Mike Johnson to step down as Republican House Speaker: NPR

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with reporters alongside President Trump Nov. 1, 2026, at the Dubuque Regional Airport in Dubuque, Iowa.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

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After a crushing defeat for the Republicans, House Speaker Mike Johnson does not plan to remain 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 president, elected after the ouster of his predecessor, California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, in 2023.

Johnson’s decision will open a role for House Minority Leader. The Republicans are scheduled to hold their leadership elections on November 10.

Historically, the president’s party loses seats in midterm elections. The blue wave exceeded the expectations of many in Washington, flipping seats in traditionally red states that the president had previously won.

Johnson nodded to that story in his remarks Tuesday evening.

“From day one of these elections, we knew that to retain the House and maintain our majority, we had to defy more than a century of midterm history. It has only happened twice in 90 years that a sitting president won or held seats for his party in this first two-year cycle. There are many reasons for that. It’s very, very difficult to overcome, and it looks like history will be preserved tonight,” he said. declared.

Johnson worked closely with the Trump administration throughout his tenure as president and faced the difficulty of keeping his conference unified with the narrowest possible majority. His slim majority meant that even a Republican defection meant the GOP’s priorities were in danger.

This dynamic will not be replicated for the presumptive next Speaker of the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Although there are a handful of lawmakers elected with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, eager to push the party further left, the comfortable margin Jeffries has means he will likely be able to achieve his priorities, even if there are defections.