The president of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, announced that he would leave the position of maximum Republican leader after the defeat of his party in the mid-term elections.
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04/11/2026
by
Lusa
O president of the United States House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, announced today that he will leave the position of maximum Republican leader after his party's defeat in the mid-term elections.
Johnson communicated to his team the decision not to dispute the role of leader of the Republican minority in the House of Representatives, after the Democrats regained control of the two chambers of the US Congress – House of Representatives and Senate – following the so-called “blue wave” that swept the country in Tuesday’s elections and represented a harsh setback to the policies adopted by the Republican President, Donald Trump, since he returned to the White House for a second presidential term in January 2025.
The 54-year-old MP, who had held the office of mayor (“Speaker”) since 2023, announced this morning to his supporters that he gave up running for the leadership of the contingent — now quite small — of Republican deputies.
According to the digital newspaper Politico, Mike Johnson spoke on the phone with Donald Trump in the morning, and it is unknown until now whether he — who was reelected in his Louisiana state district — will take office as a congressman in the next legislature or whether, on the contrary, he will resign.
The current ‘number two’ of Republicans, Steve Scalise, also elected by Louisiana, is in the race to become leader of the Republican minority in the House of Representatives, which points to a confrontation with Jim Jordan, ultraconservative congressman from Ohio and considered close to Donald Trump.
From a majority of 220 seats to a total of 435, Republicans are heading for a loss of more than 40 parliamentary mandates, according to projections by the American media.
With the Democratic victory, the office of president of the House of Representatives will pass to that party, and all indications are that it will be occupied by Hakeem Jeffries, so far leader of the Democratic minority in the House.
Jeffries will become the first African-American citizen to chair the United States House of Representatives.