Mike Johnson steps back from leadership after midterm losses, saying leaders must take responsibility

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has said the Republican Party's crushing losses in the November 3 midterm elections prompted his decision to step away from party leadership, in his first interview since the elections.

"Leaders have to take responsibility when things go wrong," Johnson said on Fox News on Saturday. The Republican speaker, who is not running for re-election to the leadership, contrasts sharply with President Donald Trump, who has avoided accountability for the results.

Johnson informed aides on November 4 that he would not seek re-election for House leadership. On Saturday he said he reached the decision pretty quickly after election night.

"We worked around the clock, left it all on the field to win. We had to defy history, as you and I both know, it's only happened twice in 90 years, but we did everything that we could to make that happen," Johnson said.

"We don't like the results," he said. "But, real leadership, I've always believed, you lead from the front, and leaders have to take responsibility when things go wrong whether it's individually deserved or not, that's part of it."

"I'm going to remain in this fight, but from a role different than as minority leader in the next Congress," he added.

Johnson's decision came after Republicans suffered historic losses in this year's midterms, with Democrats flipping key seats in Republican strongholds, including Texas, to seize control of both the Senate and the House. Trump has deflected all responsibility for the losses, including defeats for at least 10 Republican Senate candidates in states where he held rallies in the closing weeks of the campaign.

That number could rise to 11 should Alaska's incumbent Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, be defeated. The Senate race in Alaska has not yet been called.

As it stands, come January 3, Democrats will have at least 55 seats in the Senate and Republicans will have 44. In the House, Democrats will have at least 256 seats, while Republicans will have at least 169. Each party leads in four of the eight House races where votes are still being counted, and the final two seats will be determined in runoff elections next month in Louisiana.

On Tuesday, House Republicans elected Congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio to replace Johnson next year, when Republicans will be the minority party in both chambers of Congress. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, re-elected Senator John Thune of South Dakota to continue as their leader.

Democrats have not yet voted on who will lead their party in the House and Senate when the new Congress convenes in January. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York currently serves as House minority leader for the Democrats and is expected to become the nation's first Black speaker of the House, while Senator Chuck Schumer, also of New York, currently leads Senate Democrats.

The contest for Senate leadership has intensified in recent days after Chris Van Hollen of Maryland announced a challenge to Schumer. "In this election, the American people called for change. They called for a change from Donald Trump's disastrous policies - but even bigger than that, a change from the status quo that isn't working for working people," Van Hollen said, adding that he is running for Senate majority leader because new leadership is needed to meet the moment.

Bernie Sanders, the progressive senator from Vermont, said this week that he would not support Schumer's bid to serve as the Democratic leader in the Senate, saying "the time is now for change," and then endorsed Van Hollen. Senate Democrats are scheduled to hold a closed-door vote on December 1. Jeffries currently does not face a challenger, but he has faced resistance from some members of his party, including several Democrats elected earlier this month.