Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana announced he will not seek the minority leader post, bowing to calls for new leadership after last week's historic losses. His decision has set up a two-person contest between Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Johnson's top lieutenant, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, the founding chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus.

Both are allies of President Donald Trump and both ran unsuccessfully for speaker in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted. Candidates will make their pitches to the conference starting at 9 a.m. ET, with a secret-ballot vote in the afternoon. Either needs a majority of the conference to win.

Scalise has pitched himself as a unifying figure who can rally Republicans against the "socialists" coming to Washington, while Jordan argues he is best positioned to counter Democratic investigations of the Trump administration and its allies. "I'm battle-tested on the oversight front and I know the Democrats' playbook," Jordan wrote to colleagues.

A House GOP lawmaker backing Jordan over Scalise, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the party is hungry for a change in direction. "We're ready to move on. We need a pivot," the lawmaker said. "Everything is on the table" after the Democratic landslide.

Down-ballot leadership races are also contested. Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota is seeking the No. 2 minority whip post but faces a challenge from August Pfluger of Texas, chairman of the Republican Study Committee. Conference Chair Lisa McClain of Michigan is defending her seat against Erin Houchin of Indiana and Greg Steube of Florida, who has criticized the current leadership team for choosing "accommodation over conviction."

In the Senate, Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota is running for minority leader unopposed so far. But a small group of Senate Republicans is pushing to delay the vote, arguing the party needs more time to digest the election results.

"A week ago, we had the worst election result in decades. 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," Sen. David McCormick of Pennsylvania said in a statement. "As I've shared with Leader Thune, I don't believe we should move to leadership elections until we have digested and debated the lessons of the midterms and how to move forward. We need leadership in place fast, but Tuesday is too soon."

Five other Senate Republicans, led by Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, sent a letter to Conference Chairman Tom Cotton of Arkansas requesting "a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead" before the elections. Senate votes are also by secret ballot, with a simple majority needed to win. Majority Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming and Cotton are expected to retain their posts.

On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, are favorites to become the next House speaker and Senate majority leader, respectively. But they too face grumbling from the rank and file.

No one has emerged to challenge either for the top jobs, though Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland has left the door open to a potential run for majority leader amid grassroots pressure for an alternative to Schumer. A person familiar with Van Hollen's thinking said the senator "has received an outpouring of calls on running for majority leader and is now in active listening mode. The door is not shut."

Senate Democrats will elect their leadership team at a private meeting in early December, while House Democrats will pick their team next week. Several progressives have said they are undecided about backing Jeffries for speaker as grassroots groups urge the party to more aggressively confront Trump and enact progressive policies.

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

Jeffries, however, has a comfortable cushion: Democrats are projected to hold 259 House seats, meaning he can afford roughly 40 defections and still win the 218 votes needed to become speaker 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.

Jeffries and his top lieutenants — Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, Pete Aguilar of California and Ted Lieu of California — are so far running unopposed for the top four Democratic leadership posts.