WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will move Tuesday to select their leader in the minority after a brutal drubbing at the polls, with the two candidates being House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio.
asserted
candidates → move → Ohio
The lawmakers are gathering in the morning for a vote expected in the afternoon.
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lawmakers → gather → afternoon
Scalise and Jordan have faced off before, both running to serve as House speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job a little more than three years ago.
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McCarthy → face → job
Neither was able to rally the support necessary to secure the position, which eventually went to Mike Johnson, who is stepping aside from the leadership in the new Congress.
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who → rally → Congress
Now Republicans are headed into the minority, changing the nature of the job.
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Republicans → head → job
The winner of the leadership race will inherit a historically small House Republican conference that is only beginning to grapple with its loss of power as President Donald Trump serves out his final two years in office.
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Trump → inherit → office
Leading the party back to the House majority in 2028 is sure to be a stiff climb, given the scope of Democratic victories in the midterms.
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Leading → lead → midterms
Scalise, 61, has held key GOP leadership positions going back to 2014, serving as party whip and then as majority leader.
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Scalise → hold → leader
In 2017, he was critically wounded when a gunman opened fire at a baseball practice where several Republican lawmakers and staffers were preparing for an annual charity baseball game against Democrats.
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lawmakers → wound → Democrats
In 2023, he was stricken with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that was successfully treated.
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that → stricken → myeloma
“Overcoming adversity is nothing new to me,” Scalise said in his pitch to colleagues.
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Scalise → overcome → colleagues
Jordan, 62, is a co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus and served as its first chairman.
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Jordan → serve → chairman
“Our job cannot be merely to spotlight how radical this new Democratic Party is — offense, not defense, wins elections,” Jordan said, a nod to his pugnacious reputation in committee hearings.
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Jordan → spotlight → hearings
Scalise ended up withdrawing from the speaker’s race three years ago after some of the more conservative members declined to back him following Trump’s endorsement of Jordan.
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some → end → Jordan
Trump was not president at the time, but his voice still carried the most weight for many.
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voice → carry → many
Jordan then became the nominee, but others within the conference were adamant they would not reward the hardball tactics used to topple McCarthy and then Scalise, so he fell short in multiple rounds of votes.
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he → become → votes
Eventually, Republicans turned to a new face who was not part of their internal skirmish — Johnson.
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who → turn → skirmish
In a letter to colleagues, Scalise emphasized that he was ready to lead on Day One of the next Congress.
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he → emphasize → Congress
He cited his work in helping deliver legislative wins, such as Trump’s big tax and spending cut bill.
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He → cite → bill
He also emphasized his fundraising prowess, noting he raised $67.9 million for this year’s midterms, with about a third of that going directly to individual House campaigns and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
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third → emphasize → campaigns
He said his grassroots fundraising operation is the most prolific among House Republicans.
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operation → say → Republicans
“In competitive districts, every dollar counts and those resources are critical to winning back the majority,” Scalise said.
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Scalise → count → majority
Jordan warned of the coming Democratic efforts on oversight, with numerous investigations of the Trump administration expected.
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investigations → warn → administration
“I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats’ playbook,” Jordan said.
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Jordan → test → playbook
Republicans are weighing their choice
Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said he would be supporting Jordan.
“I think you need to change the team and I think you need an excellent communicator, and he fits both those bills,” Harris said.
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Harris → weigh → bills
Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania said he believes Scalise is better suited for the job.
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Scalise → say → job
“I like people who do legislation and appropriations.
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who → like → legislation
I think that’s important,” Kelly said.
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Kelly → think → ?
“I know other people have maybe had more time on Fox, but I like guys that work more on facts.”
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that → know → facts
Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas called it a “really, really close race.”
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Womack → call → Arkansas
“There’s a school of thought a lot of members have that a new broom sweeps clean after going through what we just went through last Tuesday,” Womack said.
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Womack → ’ → what
“There’s also a school of thought of people that believe Mr. Scalise, who has led us back before, can do it again.”
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who → ’ → it
Johnson said he was close to both men and would not try to dictate the outcome.
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he → say → outcome
“I want the body, I want the members to make those decisions themselves,” Johnson said.
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Johnson → want → decisions
“I’m not weighing in here on the leadership elections.”
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I → weigh → elections
In addition to the race for minority leader, Reps. Tom Emmer of Minnesota and August Pfluger of Texas are vying to serve as Republican whip, the No. 2 position in the leadership hierarchy.
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Emmer → vie → hierarchy
Three candidates are seeking to serve as conference chair: Reps. Lisa McClain of Michigan, Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida.
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candidates → seek → Florida
The Republicans who will serve in the next Congress will hear from the candidates in the morning, followed in the afternoon by voting through secret ballot.
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who → serve → ballot
Democrats will hold their leadership elections next week.
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Democrats → hold → elections
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to become the next House speaker, the first African-American to hold the job, and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is expected to become the next majority leader.
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Clark → expect → Massachusetts
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
