Who will lead Democrats, Republicans in the next session of Congress?

Who will lead Democrats and Republicans in the next session of Congress? House Republicans are bracing for a leadership battle after Speaker Mike Johnson announced he will not seek the minority leader position, setting up a contest between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan. Advertisement Updated: 6:43 AM CST Nov 10, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Rachel Hirschheimer Washington Correspondent Who will lead Democrats and Republicans in the next session of Congress? House Republicans are bracing for a leadership battle after Speaker Mike Johnson announced he will not seek the minority leader position, setting up a contest between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan. Updated: 6:43 AM CST Nov 10, 2026 Editorial Standards ⓘ Rachel Hirschheimer Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON — House Republicans are preparing for a leadership battle today after Speaker Mike Johnson announced he will not run for minority leader, following Democrats flipping more than 40 seats in the chamber. "I decided not to run for a minority leader," Johnson said. "I just didn't feel, after a lot of prayer and reflection, I didn't feel like that was the best thing for me to do." Advertisement On Monday, Johnson was asked if he would commit to serving out his two-year term in the 120th Congress. "I'm still in charge here until early January, and we're going to do our duty," Johnson said. "After that, my commitment and my objective is to help my team ensure that the Republican Party has a very successful 120th Congress, and we'll see how all that develops, and that's my commitment." Who is trying to lead the Republican Party? This decision sets up a contest between Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio for the position of House minority leader. The two lawmakers previously faced off three years ago in a bid to become House Speaker . Who will lead the Democratic Party? Democrats are expected to hold their leadership elections later this month. In the Senate, Chuck Schumer is seeking to become the next Senate majority leader, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is vying for speaker of the House. Both leaders are facing resistance from some progressive members within their party. "I'm gonna work hard to talk to every single member about what we've been able to do together over the last two years," Jeffries said. So far, no one has officially stepped up to challenge Jeffries or Schumer for their respective leadership positions. However, Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said overnight that he is not closing the door on challenging Schumer next week. Keep watching for the latest from the Washington News Bureau: Make WISN a preferred source on Google Add Preferred Source Share Infinite Scroll Enabled Top Picks US Air Force evacuates tankers from base in England due to Iran threat, WSJ reports The US to become first nation to fully shun a UN Human Rights Council review AI-generated political ads spiked in 2026, but campaigns still prioritized other means of messaging FDA adds warning about rare vision loss to popular GLP-1s