Jeffries bids for House speaker as Johnson steps aside and a GOP leadership race opens
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries launched a bid for speaker after Democrats won the House. Speaker Mike Johnson said he will not seek to lead House Republicans in the minority. A race for the House GOP leader post is underway, with Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise among those seeking it. Jeffries was trending on X.
Bias breakdown and outlet coverageon the RUSH story page →
Jeffries for speaker
The Epoch Times, Just The News and NPR reported that Jeffries asked colleagues for support to become speaker and outlined early majority priorities such as health-care funding, tariffs and the Iran war. Fox News and HuffPost reported Jeffries saying Democrats should focus on affordability rather than getting even, and that he had not had caucus members press him on impeachment — comments that drew progressive criticism. Associated Press and Usnews also covered Jeffries’s path to the speakership.
House GOP leadership fight
The Epoch Times also reported that Speaker Mike Johnson will not run for House minority leader after Democrats flipped the chamber. In the paired House GOP leadership coverage in this same Morning RUSH build, outlets including Breitbart, The Daily Caller, NBC News and The Blaze reported that Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio announced a bid for Republican leader and that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is also seeking the post, with an internal GOP vote expected soon.
Why this matters
Both parties are resetting House leadership after the midterms: Democrats toward a speakership under Jeffries, Republicans toward a new minority leader after Johnson’s decision.
What the right is saying
Right-leaning outlets covered progressive anger at Jeffries’s comments on not getting even, including Fox News, alongside The Epoch Times on the speaker bid and Johnson’s exit.
What the left is saying
Left-leaning coverage focused on Jeffries’s speaker launch and agenda, including HuffPost and NPR.