The leadership shake-up follows a Democratic wave in last week's midterm elections that handed the party roughly 260 House seats — its largest majority in 35 years — and ended Republican control of the chamber. Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana announced a day after the rout that he would step down from the leadership team.

Jordan, 62, ran as a break from the Johnson political operation, arguing that his experience leading the Judiciary and Oversight committees made him the right person to counter the investigations Democrats have promised into President Donald Trump's administration, family and business ventures.

"I am battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," Jordan wrote to colleagues ahead of the vote.

Scalise, a close Johnson ally who has served in Republican leadership since John Boehner was speaker, had argued he was best positioned to unify the party's factions against what he called the "socialists" arriving in Washington. But a majority of the conference sided with Jordan's case for a clean break.

The result marks a remarkable ascent for Jordan, who arrived in Congress two decades ago as a conservative agitator. He rose to lead the Republican Study Committee after the 2010 Tea Party wave and co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, a smaller hardline group that pushed the conference rightward and frequently clashed with GOP leaders — including Boehner, a fellow Ohio Republican, and his successor, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Jordan's relationship with the party establishment has warmed in recent years as he took the gavel of powerful committees. He sought the minority leader post once before, in 2018, after Republicans lost the majority in that year's anti-Trump wave, but was easily defeated by Kevin McCarthy, 159 to 43.

That same year, former Ohio State University wrestlers accused Jordan, a former assistant wrestling coach there, of failing to stop sexual abuse by the team doctor, Richard Strauss. An independent investigation found Strauss abused hundreds of men over decades; he died in 2005. Jordan has repeatedly denied knowing about the abuse.

After McCarthy resigned as speaker in October 2023, both Scalise and Jordan sought to succeed him but fell short of the 218 votes needed on the floor, eventually clearing the way for Johnson.

Other House Republican leadership races were still being decided Tuesday. Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota is seeking the No. 2 minority whip post but faces a challenge from Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, who chairs the Republican Study Committee. Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan is defending her position against Reps. Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida.

Senate Republicans also held their leadership elections Tuesday behind closed doors, with Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota running unopposed so far for minority leader. A handful of senators had pressed to delay the vote, arguing the party needed time to absorb last week's losses.

"A week ago, we had the worst election result in decades," Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania said in a statement. "We need a discussion about what went wrong, how we fix it, what we stand for, and how our agenda must focus on the concerns of the American people."

Five other Senate Republicans, led by Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, sent a letter to conference Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas asking for a fuller debate before the elections went forward. Thune, Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming and Cotton are expected to retain their posts as the top three Senate Republicans.

On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are heavy favorites to become the next House speaker and Senate majority leader, though both face some restlessness in their ranks. No challenger has emerged, but Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has left open the possibility of running for majority leader amid grassroots pressure for an alternative to Schumer.

"The senator has received an outpouring of calls on running for majority leader and is now in active listening mode," a person familiar with Van Hollen's thinking said. "The door is not shut."

Senate Democrats will elect their leadership team at a private meeting in early December, while House Democrats vote next week. With Democrats projected to hold 259 seats, Jeffries can afford roughly 40 defections and still reach the 218 votes needed to win the speaker's gavel on Jan. 3.

"We're going to work as hard as we can to get to the 218 number, and we're confident that we will get to that number and beyond," Jeffries told reporters when asked about progressive members who say they are undecided.

Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy of New Jersey put it this way: "We're not withholding votes. What we're doing is saying we're undecided. We want to sit and have a conversation about the issues and what's the plan going forward."