House Republicans chose Jim Jordan on Tuesday to lead them in opposition to a Democratic-controlled Congress, according to a person familiar with the matter, putting a combative Donald Trump ally at the forefront of the party’s fight to defend the US president’s agenda during his final two years in office.
A secret ballot held behind closed doors elevated the Ohio Republican and House Judiciary Committee chairman to the minority leadership post a week after Democrats swept to victory in last Tuesday’s midterm elections, winning sizable majorities in both the House and Senate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson opted not to stand for the leadership position.
Across the Capitol, Senate Republicans met behind closed doors to decide whether to push forward with internal elections that were expected to retain US Senator John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, as the party leader or opt for a delay that could allow a challenger to emerge.
The House and Senate leadership elections will help determine what role Republicans intend to play as the minority party in Congress during the final two years of Trump’s presidency.
Democrats will need Republican support to move major initiatives in the 100-member Senate, where the filibuster rule requires 60 votes for most legislation. Their majorities in both chambers also fall well short of the two-thirds votes needed to override presidential vetoes.
After the midterm elections, Thune vowed that Republicans would work with Trump to block “Democrat extremism” and work against any attempt by Democrats to unwind Republican achievements including border security and judicial appointments.
Jordan, 62, was first elected in 2006 to represent a deeply conservative rural district in northern Ohio and was a founder of the House Freedom Caucus, a group that former Republican Speaker John Boehner labeled “legislative terrorists”.
