House Leadership
Each chamber of Congress has its own leadership structure. This page explains the main leadership roles in the U.S. House of Representatives — Speaker, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and the Whips — and identifies the senators or representatives currently holding each position in the 119th Congress.
Data as of 2026-05-09.
Current officeholder: Mike Johnson (R-LA-4)
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the U.S. House of Representatives and the highest-ranking member of the majority party in the chamber. The Speaker is elected by the full House at the start of each Congress, sets the legislative agenda, controls floor recognition, makes committee assignments through the Rules Committee, and is second in the line of presidential succession after the Vice President.
Current officeholder: Steve Scalise (R-LA-1)
The House Majority Leader is the second-ranking member of the majority party in the House, after the Speaker. The Majority Leader manages the legislative schedule, advances the majority’s policy agenda on the floor, and serves as a primary spokesperson for the majority caucus.
Current officeholder: Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8)
The House Minority Leader is the head of the minority party in the U.S. House. The Minority Leader leads the opposition, sets minority strategy and messaging, negotiates with the Speaker on procedure, and would become Speaker if the minority became the majority.
Current officeholder: Tom Emmer (R-MN-6)
The House Majority Whip is the third-ranking member of the majority party. The whip counts votes within the caucus, ensures attendance for important roll-call votes, and helps the leadership lock in majority support before bills come to the floor.
Current officeholder: Katherine Clark (D-MA-5)
The House Minority Whip is the second-ranking member of the minority party, after the Minority Leader. The whip mobilizes minority members, counts votes, and helps coordinate the minority’s position on legislation moving through the House.
The Speaker of the House is elected by the full House on the first day of each new Congress. While any U.S. citizen could theoretically be elected Speaker, in practice the position has always gone to the leader chosen by the majority party. The Majority and Minority Leaders, along with their respective Whips, are elected by their party caucuses (the Republican Conference and the Democratic Caucus) by secret ballot.
Leaders generally serve as long as their party retains majority or minority status and their colleagues continue to support them. There are no constitutional or statutory term limits on these positions.
The current Speaker of the House is Mike Johnson (R-LA-4), serving in the 119th Congress.
The current House Majority Leader is Steve Scalise (R-LA-1), serving in the 119th Congress.
The current House Minority Leader is Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8), serving in the 119th Congress.
The current House Majority Whip is Tom Emmer (R-MN-6), serving in the 119th Congress.
The current House Minority Whip is Katherine Clark (D-MA-5), serving in the 119th Congress.
