House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was reelected as speaker of the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on the first vote on the opening day of the 119th Congress. Initially, Johnson received 216 votes, and Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) received 215.
Three Republicans voted against Johnson. Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted for Representative Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Representative Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) voted for Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), and Representative Keith Self (R-Texas) voted for Representative Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). That resulted in Johnson initially falling short of the 218 votes needed for reelection.
House Reading Clerk Tylease Alli then called on representatives who had initially declined to vote. Representatives Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) ended up casting their votes for Johnson. With the earlier vote at 216-215-3, Johnson spoke with Norman and Self in a bid to avoid a second vote. Those two representatives changed their votes with the House clerk to deliver the 218 votes needed to secure Johnson’s reelection.
Trump Endorsement
Despite facing dissent from a small group within the Republican Party who have been critical of his actions as speaker, Johnson managed to secure necessary support from a number of holdouts with the help of President-elect Donald Trump. Before the vote, Trump claimed that Johnson being reelected as speaker would be a win for the Republican Party, stating on Truth Social:
Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support. A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! – A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!
The vote took place shortly after the new session of Congress commenced, and underscores the Republican Party’s and Trump’s intent to maintain continuity in House leadership among a closely divided chamber in order to act on the 2024 election mandate and deliver Trump’s second-term agenda. Johnson first became speaker in October 2023, after internal Republican Party turmoil resulted in former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) becoming the first House speaker to be ousted.
