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Washington, DC – One week after losing their majority in the United States’ midterm elections, Republicans in the US House of Representatives have chosen Congressman Jim Jordan as their new minority leader.

In a secret ballot vote held on Tuesday, the Ohio lawmaker, who was first elected to the US Congress in 2007, won the support of his fellow party members to succeed Mike Johnson as the chamber’s top Republican.

The high-stakes decision comes as Republicans try to chart a path forward after a bruising midterm defeat in which Democrats flipped at least 40 seats nationwide.

Jordan had been vying with current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise for the role, which will carry a host of responsibilities as Republicans prepare to message against at least two years of Democrat-led investigations into US President Donald Trump’s administration and pick a 2028 presidential nominee.

In a reported letter to his fellow Republicans ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Jordan described himself as a “battle-tested” leader who was ready to take on those challenges.

“I know what it will take to lead our Conference in the minority, to stay unified, and to coordinate and calibrate our response to the Democrats’ tactics”, he wrote. “We need a Leadership team that is active and engaged, forward-thinking and straight-shooting”.

Jordan, a top Trump ally, has been an influential voice in the Republican caucus. He co-founded the conservative House Freedom Caucus, which has frustrated many former and current Republican leaders and thwarted party-backed legislation.

As the current chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jordan has used his power to look into what he has argued is the weaponisation of government against Trump. He has led the panel’s investigations into former special counsel Jack Smith and Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis, who both have unsuccessfully prosecuted the president.

Jordan, who once worked as an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State University, had faced allegations that he had knowledge of sexual abuse of student-athletes by the team’s physician, Dr Richard Strauss, from 1978 to 1998. Jordan has denied the allegations.

He previously made a short-lived bid for US House Speaker after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role in 2023.