After Midterm Rout, the GOP Chooses to Fight Harder
Instead of reflecting after a crushing midterm defeat, Republicans are doubling down on Trumpism. The House GOP just elected hard-charging Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan as its new minority leader. President Trump promoted loyalist Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff. And the outgoing Republican majority scrambled to protect Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from impeachment.
These are not the moves of a party trying to broaden its appeal. Outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson even declared that “the voters made the wrong choice.” Jordan and Miller are two of the most combative figures in MAGA politics. Jordan is known for aggressive, disruptive hearings, while Miller is a pure nationalist who will push Trump’s agenda to the limit in the final two years of his term.
Saving Hegseth is especially revealing. He has been the chief architect and public cheerleader of the unpopular Iran war — a conflict even many Republican voters dislike. Yet the party closed ranks to protect him. With Democrats now controlling both chambers of Congress by wide margins, the move looks more like a morale boost for a defeated army than a long-term strategy.
Trump has always responded to setbacks by intensifying the fight rather than moderating. The smaller, more hardcore Republican caucus that survived the midterms may only tighten his grip. Washington is heading into a stormy 2027.
