Jim Jordan, an ally of President Donald Trump, was elected US House Republican leader on Tuesday, defeating Steve Scalise 106-73 in a secret ballot, US media reported. He takes over as the party heads into opposition after the midterm defeat.

A verdict against the established leadership

Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, beat the current majority leader in a vote conducted by secret ballot. Both candidates were staunch Trump allies, but the president declined to endorse either candidate.

The result was seen as a rejection of the party's established leadership. Scalise had served in senior Republican positions for more than a decade, and the House Republican leadership election went instead to the challenger from the party's hard-right flank.

Who Jordan is

Jordan has represented Ohio in Congress since 2007 and built a reputation as a political brawler and fierce critic of the Republican establishment. A former champion wrestler, he is a founding member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus and pitched himself as the fighter Republicans need to confront Democrats during the final two years of Trump's presidency.

His tactics have drawn sharp words from within his own party. Former speaker John Boehner once called him a "legislative terrorist". Jordan also emerged as a leading defender of Trump during congressional investigations into the president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

A 2023 rematch settled

The contest was a rematch of the 2023 battle for the speakership that followed the ouster of Kevin McCarthy. On that occasion Scalise initially won the nomination but withdrew, and Jordan lost three votes on the House floor before Mike Johnson emerged as a compromise candidate.

This time the result went decisively Jordan's way. He replaces Johnson, who announced he was stepping down from leadership after Republicans lost both chambers of Congress in last week's midterm elections.

Senate Republicans keep John Thune

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, reelected John Thune as their leader, retaining their existing leadership team despite conservatives' demands for a reckoning over the election losses. Conservative lawmakers temporarily stalled proceedings, demanding a clearer strategy for confronting the incoming Democratic majority.

Thune said in a statement: "I appreciated the opportunity to have an open, honest, and transparent conversation with my colleagues today," adding that he was honored to retain their support.

He will become Senate minority leader in January and pledged to work with Trump and oppose Democratic efforts to enact what he called their "far-left, liberal agenda."