Jim Jordan beats Steve Scalise 106-73 to lead House Republicans in minority

Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio has been chosen to lead Republicans in the United States House of Representatives, defeating Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana in an internal party vote, The Times of Israel reported, carrying an Associated Press dispatch from Washington. The tally was 106-73 in a secret ballot held on Tuesday among Republicans who will sit in the next Congress, the 120th.

The contest took place on November 10, 2026, on Capitol Hill. Jordan, 62, will serve as minority leader, because the Republicans are preparing to give up control of the House following what the AP described as an election debacle last week. Israeli outlet Ynet flagged the result in a news alert, describing Jordan as an enthusiastic supporter of Israel.

Who Jim Jordan is

Jordan currently chairs the House Judiciary Committee, the panel that oversees matters such as the federal courts, law enforcement agencies and constitutional questions. According to the AP report, he helped found the House Freedom Caucus, a bloc of hardline conservative lawmakers inside the Republican conference, and was its first chairman. The AP characterised the caucus as ultraconservative.

The AP account said his bid drew support from two groups of colleagues: members who wanted fresh leadership after the party's losses, and members who favour his combative way of doing politics. Scalise, his opponent, represents a Louisiana district.

What a minority leader does

In the House, the party that holds a majority of seats elects the Speaker, who controls the chamber's agenda and decides which bills reach the floor. The other party chooses a minority leader, who acts as its chief spokesperson, organises its strategy, and tries to hold its members together in opposition. The post carries influence but far less formal power than the speakership.

Leadership elections like this one are internal party affairs. Only members of the party conference vote, and the ballot is secret, so it is not publicly known which lawmakers backed which candidate.

A smaller party with less power

The AP report said Jordan will take over a House Republican conference it called historically small, and one that is only starting to come to terms with losing control of the chamber. That shift comes as President Donald Trump, a Republican, enters the last two years of his term. Without a House majority, Republicans will no longer be able to set the chamber's agenda during that period.

The AP described the task of winning back the majority in 2028 as a stiff climb. The dispatch as carried by The Times of Israel breaks off at that point, so its full reasoning for that assessment is not available in the material.

Why Israeli media are watching

Congress plays a central role in American policy toward Israel. It approves the federal budget, including security assistance, and its committees hold hearings and pass resolutions on Middle East issues. The leaders of each party in the House help decide which of those measures get attention and how their members vote.

That is the backdrop to the interest from Israeli outlets. Ynet's alert led with Jordan's stance on Israel rather than with the vote count or the party's change in fortunes. The Times of Israel, an English language Israeli news site, ran the AP's report on the leadership race. The AP text itself, as published, does not discuss Jordan's positions on Israel or foreign policy.

What the reports do not say

• Ynet's alert does not set out the record on which it bases its description of Jordan as an enthusiastic supporter of Israel, and the AP report does not address the subject.
• Neither report gives the number of seats Republicans will hold in the new House, beyond the AP's description of the conference as historically small.
• No reaction from Scalise to his defeat, or from Trump to Jordan's election, appears in the material.
• The reports do not say who will fill the other Republican leadership posts, or who is expected to become Speaker.