House Republicans returned to Capitol Hill from a midterm wipeout and elected as their new leader Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Freedom Caucus co-founder and reformed political bomb-thrower who is now charged with marshaling the chamber’s smallest Republican minority since the 1990s.
The vote among Republican lawmakers Tuesday evening was 106-73. The leadership race pitted Mr. Jordan, who rose to prominence as an ally of the conservative tea party movement, against House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican who was known for brokering agreements between party factions.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, did not run.
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Mr. Jordan, in brief remarks after his election, said Republicans were ready to counter the new Democratic majority.
“When Democrats offer more government, we’ll offer more freedom,” he said.
Mr. Jordan was first elected in 2006. He chairs the House Judiciary Committee, a credential he touted to Republicans bracing for Democratic investigations of President Trump and his circle.
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“I just appreciate his fighting spirit,” said Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican who backed Mr. Jordan.
Mr. Jordan secured early support Tuesday from the conference’s conservative faction, whose proportional power increased after several moderate members lost in swing districts.
Rep. Brian Babin, Texas Republican, said his party needs to unify to make a 2028 comeback and regain ground in states such as his own.
“We’ve got to rebuild this team; we’ve got to quit pointing the fingers,” he said, adding that members must vote with the party and stop leaking private conversations to the press.
A longtime member of leadership, Mr. Scalise touted his experience and said he could help Republicans deliver legislative wins for their districts while in the minority.
Mr. Scalise argued that he could help win back lost districts.
“I’ve got a proven record. I know how to bring people together,” he said. “I can go to the most ruby-red or the most swing district, and we’re going to have to go back to those swing districts we lost, and we’ll get those back.”
After the Election Day drubbing, Mr. Jordan will lead a much smaller Republican conference and will not be able to dictate the House’s agenda.
The third time was the charm for Mr. Jordan, who has twice sought to lead House Republicans.
As House Judiciary Committee chair during President Biden’s administration, Mr. Jordan subpoenaed administration officials and Ivy League college presidents, creating viral moments.
Over the past two years, he has continued to ally himself with Mr. Trump, even when it means taking a position at odds with that of the conservative faction he once represented, such as when he called for the extension of expiring surveillance powers.
He has now completed a transformation from a Republican rebel to party leader.
The first chairman of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, he was often a thorn in the side of Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, whom he pressured to dismantle Obamacare and adopt aggressive deficit-cutting measures.
He was a leading player in the ouster of Mr. Boehner as speaker; Mr. Boehner later called Mr. Jordan a “legislative terrorist.”
“I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart — never building anything, never putting anything together,” Mr. Boehner said in a CBS interview.
In recent years, Mr. Jordan has steadily moved closer to the center of power within the Republican Conference, using his gavel on the Judiciary Committee to question adversaries of the MAGA movement. He also built up clout before the leadership election by aggressively campaigning and fundraising for fellow House candidates in the midterm elections.
Democrats were critical of Republicans’ choice of Mr. Jordan as their leader.
Rep. Donald Beyer, Virginia Democrat, compared his election to Mr. Trump’s appointment of Stephen Miller as the new White House chief of staff.
“Republicans learned absolutely nothing from what happened a week ago, and are responding by elevating their most extreme voices to positions of power,” he said on social media.
Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan remained in leadership, as she was reelected chair of the House Republican Conference, a post that includes coordinating messaging.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican, will keep a leadership role, winning election as minority whip. Mr. Emmer beat Rep. August Pfluger, Texas Republican, who challenged him for the No. 2 post in the House Republican Conference.
The whip is responsible for ensuring that party members vote in line with the party’s position.
“This Republican leadership team will expose the Democrats’ lies and show the American people their true colors as the radical communists that they are,” Mr. Emmer said.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican who backed Mr. Scalise, was blunt about the reality of the next Congress.
“When you’re in the minority, there aren’t many legislative wins,” he said. “The Democrats have a majority. They’re going to be able to do whatever they want. What we have to do is highlight exactly what the Democrats want to do and how their agenda is really not … what the American people voted them in power for.”
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