Scalise and Jordan face off in House leadership battle as GOP reels from blue tsunami

WASHINGTON — The battle for Republican leadership in the House and Senate is on.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep.Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) are facing off for the minority leader spot in the next Congress, a rematch of their failed attempts to claim the No.

1 spot after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster three years ago.Both men have been working the phone lines and courting freshman lawmakers as they jockey to succeed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who decided to step down after the blue tsunami last week.“They’re going well,” one source told The Post about Scalise’s efforts to court freshman and returning lawmakers.Scalise, a gunshot and cancer survivor, who has been in a top four House GOP leadership position since 2014 when he was majority whip, touted his experience and “proven track record” in outreach to members.Jordan, the outgoing House Judiciary Committee Chairman who lost his speakership bid to Scalise in 2023, has fashioned himself as a scrappy outsider and proven fighter.The two both recognize that Democrats will mount an onslaught of investigations into President Trump and his allies.Meanwhile, in the Senate, GOP leadership has faced grumbles that the internal election is slated to take place so soon after the historic midterm drubbing.Sen.

Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) urged his colleagues to delay the leadership election so that senators can take a beat and reflect on what went so wrong.“I’m not going to participate in an election that’s held that early,” Johnson told Scripps News.The Wisconsin Republican drew surprising support from several senators such as Sens.

Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), John Kennedy (R-La.), among others who don’t have a reputation for clashing with leadership.Despite those calls for postponing the election, the House GOP Senate Conference appears poised to barrel ahead with elections nonetheless.However, GOP senators are set to reflect on last week’s electoral shellacking during a meeting ...