Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek to lead House Republicans in the next Congress, closing out his speakership after Democrats won control of the House in Tuesday’s midterms.

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From The Epoch Times:

Johnson will not run to be the Republican House leader in the next Congress, a spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email on Nov. 4.

Johnson, 54, has been House speaker since 2023 and won another term representing Louisiana’s Fourth Congressional District. He told supporters on Tuesday that he and other candidates gave it their all, but were unable to defy the history of whichever party holds the presidency losing seats in the middle of a term.

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Among the options to succeed Johnson will be Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who told GOP colleagues on Wednesday that he will run for the top Republican post.

Johnson called serving as the 56th speaker an honor and struck a defiant note about what comes next. “Republicans will not be deterred by the outcome of one election,” he told supporters, adding that the party would “double down” and aim to retake the House in 2028. His rise to the speakership in October 2023 came after a bruising three-week fight in which Jordan was among the candidates who fell short, and many intercessors saw Johnson’s selection as a direct answer to prayer.

Jordan, who has tried several times without success to become the top House Republican, is pitching himself as the right leader for a party in the minority. In a letter to colleagues, he said Republicans have operated without a clear plan and need leadership that can stand up to an “emboldened and energetic Democrat majority.” He also pointed to Democrats’ pledges to investigate administration officials, describing himself as “battle-tested” on oversight.

Jordan won’t have the field to himself. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Johnson’s No. 2, has begun telling colleagues he will also run for the top Republican post, setting up a likely showdown between the two, Fox News reported. Scalise has served in House GOP leadership for more than a decade but, like Jordan, came up short in the October 2023 race to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. This time the bar is lower: a minority leader needs only a majority of the Republican conference, not a majority of the full House.

The new majority will be substantial. Democrats are projected to hold at least 233 House seats, well above the 218 needed for control, and they have also flipped the Senate. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker in January, called the results a rebuke of “MAGA extremism” and said Democrats will focus on making life more affordable. IFA President David Kubal has written about how intercessors should respond to the election results.

Let’s thank God for Speaker Johnson’s three years of faithful leadership, and pray that the Lord would strengthen him, his wife Kelly, and their family as he steps out of the speakership. Let’s pray for House Republicans as they choose their next leader, that they would seek God’s direction and unite behind someone with conviction, courage, and integrity. Let’s pray that Democratic oversight would serve truth rather than political retribution, and that every lawmaker would remember they answer to God. And let’s pray for Rep. Jeffries as he prepares to take the gavel, that God would turn his heart toward righteousness and that the House would protect life, family, and religious liberty.

How are you praying for the House and the Republican party as leadership changes hands? Share your prayers and scriptures in the comments.

(Excerpt from The Epoch Times. Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Mike Johnson, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=151760197)