Washington DC - Jim Jordan, a hardline ally of President Donald Trump, was elected leader of the Republicans in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, defeating fellow conservative Steve Scalise as the party reckons with a crushing midterm election defeat.
Jordan, the combative chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, beat the current majority leader by 106 votes to 73 in a secret ballot, US media reported, putting him in charge of the party's opposition to the incoming Democratic majority.
The Ohio congressman will replace House Speaker Mike Johnson, who announced he was stepping down from leadership after Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress in last week's elections.
Jordan, a founding member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, had pitched himself as the fighter Republicans need to confront Democrats during the final two years of Trump's presidency.
His victory – which was celebrated by multiple House colleagues on social media – represented a rejection of the party's established leadership, with Scalise having served in senior Republican positions for more than a decade.
Both men are staunch Trump allies, but the president declined to endorse either candidate.
The contest was a rematch of their 2023 battle for the speakership following the ouster of Kevin McCarthy.
Senate Republicans suspend leadership election as Jim Jordan wins House vote
Scalise initially won the Republican nomination but withdrew after failing to secure sufficient support, while Jordan subsequently lost three votes on the House floor before Johnson emerged as a compromise candidate.
Jordan, a former champion wrestler who has represented Ohio in Congress since 2007, built his reputation as a political brawler and fierce critic of the Republican establishment.
Former speaker John Boehner once branded him a "legislative terrorist" for his uncompromising tactics.
He also emerged as a leading defender of Trump during congressional investigations into the president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans suspended their own leadership election Tuesday amid demands for a reckoning over their midterm losses and a clearer strategy for confronting the incoming Democratic majority.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune had been expected to win another term unopposed, but conservative lawmakers demanded more time to discuss the party's direction.
"We have 55 days until the Democrats take over," Republican Senator Rick Scott told reporters, according to The Hill.
"I want to know what we're going to do between now and then to get stuff done."