GOP chooses Jordan and Thune as leaders

U.S. Senate Republicans reelected Sen. John Thune of South Dakota to lead them when they lose their majority next year, even as their counterparts in the House of Representatives appointed a more firebrand figure after crushing losses in the midterms, USA TODAY reported.

The decision, which was made Tuesday behind closed doors without an official tally, came after days of griping among some of Thune’s counterparts about a need for a new direction in the GOP, particularly as it eyes a post-Trump era.

There was a push among conservatives to delay the vote as they sought a plan for how Thune intended to handle the lame-duck session.

“We have 55 days until the Democrats take over,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, one of the members who tried unsuccessfully to put off the leadership contest, told USA TODAY. “I want to know what we’re going to do between now and then to get stuff done, because we’re not going to be in power for at least two years.”

Meanwhile, House Republicans elected Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan to be their next leader, signaling a combative stance with the incoming Democratic majority.

Jordan won with a vote of 106 to 73.

“Over the next two years House Republicans will fight for American families,” Jordan told reporters after the vote, without taking questions. “When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom. We will bring that fight in committee, on the floor and on the stump every single day.”

His victory came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, declined to run for minority leader in the next Congress, after Republicans lost control of both chambers during last week’s midterm elections. Johnson’s second-in-command, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, ran against Jordan to become the next minority leader.