Mike Johnson will not seek the House minority leader post, Scalise and Jordan open bids, and Jeffries is in line to take the gavel on January 3

The losing party started rearranging itself on Wednesday morning. Speaker Mike Johnson told his staff he will not run for House minority leader, the job he would hold when the new Congress sits on January 3 and his party hands over the majority. Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan both announced bids for the post the same day, Reuters reported, and the Republican leadership election is expected on November 10. Trump told reporters he would stay out of the contest.

On the Democratic side, Reuters reported in a factbox published on Wednesday that Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become speaker on January 3, the first Black speaker of the House. Chuck Schumer is likely to keep the Democratic leadership in the Senate, and John Thune is expected to lead the Senate Republicans in the minority. Both parties are expected to pick their full leadership teams after Congress returns next week.

The count behind the change is still moving. The Associated Press had called 232 House races for Democrats and 146 for Republicans as of November 4, with Democrats leading in 29 of the uncalled districts and Republicans in 28. Control is not in doubt. The size of the majority is.

The new majority is already naming its first business. USA Today reported on Wednesday that Democrats plan investigations of the administration, that articles are pending to remove several cabinet secretaries, among them Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and that Adam Smith, the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has pledged to investigate Hegseth and the Iran war. No cabinet resignation or firing had been reported as of Wednesday.