One week after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, Republicans spent Tuesday, Nov. 10, trying to settle who will lead them in the minority, and the day did not go entirely to plan. Senate Republicans left a two-hour closed-door meeting without deciding whether to re-elect Sen. John Thune of South Dakota as their leader, while House Republicans prepared for a secret-ballot vote choosing between Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Senate GOP pauses on Thune
Thune, the current majority leader, has no announced challenger and remains widely expected to keep the top job, according to the Associated Press and CBS News. But a group of Republican senators led by Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin circulated a letter asking for a conference meeting and vote to delay the leadership elections, and senators could still move to postpone them by a week or more. Republicans were expected to reconvene Tuesday afternoon.
Those seeking a delay say the party’s losses call for a fuller discussion first. Republicans lost at least seven Senate seats, and races in Alaska and Mississippi remain uncalled. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said he did not know of anyone else running but questioned rushing to re-ratify the same leaders, according to the AP. Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia said the losses give some reason to question leadership, yet added that the current leaders did not cause the losses and do a good job.
Thune listened more than he spoke during the morning session, the AP reported. Earlier he told reporters he was open to hearing the arguments for a delay. He has called the midterms a “tough night” and said Republicans will work with Democrats, while arguing that voters were not asking for a shift to the far left.
House GOP: Scalise or Jordan
On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson is stepping aside from leading the conference in the minority, though he has said he remains in charge until early January. Republicans met at 9 a.m. to hear from candidates, with a secret-ballot vote expected in the afternoon, according to PBS NewsHour and CBS News. President Trump has not publicly endorsed either candidate.
- Steve Scalise, 61, the current majority leader, has served in GOP leadership for more than a decade. He describes his approach as conservative and focused on consensus, calls winning back the majority his top goal, and points to his fundraising record.
- Jim Jordan, 62, chairs the Judiciary Committee and co-founded the House Freedom Caucus. He has urged a more aggressive posture, telling colleagues that “offense, not defense, wins elections,” and calls himself battle-tested on oversight.
The two men faced each other once before, in 2023, when Republicans searched for a successor to Kevin McCarthy and eventually settled on Johnson, NPR noted. Down-ballot races are also contested: Rep. August Pfluger of Texas is challenging Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota for whip, and Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan faces Reps. Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida.
Democrats prepare to take charge
House Democrats hold their own leadership elections next week. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is expected to become speaker, which would make him the first Black speaker, and Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts is expected to become majority leader, the first woman in that role, PBS reported. Jeffries has listed priorities including reversing Republican Medicaid cuts, renewing expired Affordable Care Act tax credits and ending the Iran war, according to The Fiscal Times.
Senate Democrats, who could hold as many as 56 seats next year, face their own leadership debate. Some are privately discussing whether Sen. Chuck Schumer should remain leader; Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Elissa Slotkin have both considered challenges but neither has announced, the AP reported.
The Dec. 11 funding deadline
Behind the leadership fights sits a hard deadline. Government funding runs out on Dec. 11, about four weeks away, as Upstormed News reported when the lame-duck session opened. Republicans hope to pass a short-term funding bill by then and add some of their priorities before losing the House, according to Spectrum News. House Freedom Caucus members have pushed for a Republican-only package with at least $1 trillion in spending cuts. Democrats, meanwhile, may favor a short-term stopgap that pushes a full-year deal into 2027, when they will control both chambers, The Fiscal Times reported. Funding for the Iran war and the annual defense policy bill are also part of the year-end debate.
Why it matters for families
The people chosen this week will shape how much the two parties cooperate on issues families watch closely, from health insurance costs and Medicaid to immigration. In the near term, whether Congress meets the Dec. 11 deadline will determine whether federal services and paychecks for government workers continue uninterrupted into the holidays.
What to watch next
- The outcome of the House GOP secret ballot and whether Senate Republicans vote Tuesday or postpone.
- House Democratic leadership elections next week and any formal challenge to Schumer.
- Negotiations on a stopgap funding bill ahead of Dec. 11.
This is a developing story, and Upstormed News will follow the results.
Read more: Hegseth Faces Possible House Impeachment Vote as Thune Seeks to Lead Senate GOP
What qualities do you think matter most in a congressional leader after a big election shift?
Sources: Associated Press via KWCH, “Republicans leave closed-door meeting without a decision on whether to reelect John Thune as leader” (November 10, 2026); CBS News, “Congress live updates as GOP elects leaders, Hegseth faces impeachment vote” (November 10, 2026); PBS NewsHour, “House expected to hold preliminary vote on Hegseth impeachment as GOP chooses next leader” (November 10, 2026); NPR via MPR News, “House Republicans to elect a new leader as they look to rebuild from midterm defeat” (November 10, 2026); The Fiscal Times, “Lame-Duck Congress Faces a Shutdown Deadline” (November 9, 2026); Spectrum News, “Lame-duck Congress returns with shutdown deadline, Hegseth impeachment push” (November 9, 2026)
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