Mike Johnson has led the House of Representatives since October 2023, when he emerged as a compromise candidate after weeks of Republican infighting. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: US House speaker Mike Johnson will step down as Republican leader following his party's crushing midterm election defeat, his spokesman confirmed to AFP Wednesday.
Johnson, the highest-ranking Republican in the US after President Donald Trump and vice-president JD Vance, is second in the line of presidential succession.
Asked whether reports that Johnson would step aside were correct, his spokesman responded in a one-word email: "Accurate".
The Louisiana Republican told staff of his decision Wednesday morning, a day after Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress in a sweeping rejection of Trump's party.
