House speaker vote: Trump touts Mike Johnson
Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was re-elected speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday on the first ballot after two of the three fellow Republicans who initially voted for other caucus members switched to him.
Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Texas’ Keith Self flipped their votes to Johnson after huddling with him near the House floor as the chamber’s clerk kept the ballot open for more than an hour.
Only one Republican, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, voted for someone else — Rep. Tom Emmer — in the final tally, which gave Johnson the minimum 218 votes he needed to win.
Neither Emmer nor the other Republicans who Norman and Self first voted for — Jim Jordan and Byron Donalds— had been nominated for or sought the speaker’s gavel.
Johnson defeated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who was nominated by his fellow Democrats. Jeffries received all 215 votes of the caucus.
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, gavels in the first session of the 119th Congress, in the House Chamber at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 3, 2025.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
Earlier Friday, President-elect Donald Trump again called on the GOP caucus to keep Johnson in the speaker’s chair. Johnson’s first term as speaker officially ended with the end of the former Congress, at 11 a.m. ET.
“Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“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!!” Trump wrote. “A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!”
Republicans have 219 seats in the new Congress. Democrats hold 215 seats.
Johnson was first elected speaker on Oct. 25, 2023, three weeks after then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, was ousted from that slot when a handful of Republican members joined every Democrat to vote for his removal.
Johnson was the fourth nominee considered to replace McCarthy.
McCarthy had only been speaker himself for nine months when he was removed — he was first elected speaker in January 2023 after four days of voting and 15 ballots.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
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