Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer to stay in GOP leadership as House minority whip as chamber flips to Democrats

Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer will stay in House Republican leadership as minority whip, defeating a challenge from Rep. August Pfluger of Texas on Tuesday.

Emmer, who represents Minnesota's 6th Congressional District, is currently the House majority whip. Republicans are moving into the minority after Democrats flipped the chamber in the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

"Over the next two years we will regain the trust and confidence of the American people so we can build back our majority in 2028," Emmer said. 

The whip is the second-highest-ranking position in the minority, making Emmer the No. 2 to Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.

Emmer added that he is thankful that his colleagues are trusting him with the leadership position again.

Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, was elected the party's leader in the new Congress on Tuesday, beating Majority Leader Steve Scalise, 106-73, according to sources familiar with the tally who spoke to CBS News. Speaker Mike Johnson stepped aside from the race.

As of Tuesday morning, Democrats were on pace for at least 256 House seats in the new year, with some races still undecided.

Emmer was first elected majority whip after the 2022 midterms and was reelected to the post in 2024. He was also briefly in the running for speaker in 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted.