By Associated Press’s LISA MASCARO, FARNOUSH AMIRI, and KEVIN FREKING
Washington (AP) With the help of President-elect Donald Trump, Republican Mike Johnson defeated hard-right Republicans to win reelection to the House speakership on Friday’s first ballot.
On the opening day of the new Congress, a group of hardline Republicans gathered in the rear of the House chamber for a heated roll call, each one choosing a different lawmaker or refusing to cast a ballot. Indicating difficulty ahead under united GOP rule of Washington, the deadlock triggered further unrest.
Republicans cheered when Johnson eventually succeeded in flipping the two holdouts who had remained to support him.
once the most recent speaker, Johnson’s shaky hold on the gavel jeopardizes not only his own life but also President-elect Trump’s far-reaching plans for mass deportations and tax cuts once Republicans seize power.
As the GOP Conference Chair Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., nominated Johnson, newly elected House members began to cast their votes.
She stated that no speaker is flawless. However, the objective is to move closer to national priorities, she stated. We won’t everybody obtain exactly what we desire.
In the face of instability and dysfunction under the GOP majority, Democrats pointed to their own leader, New Yorker Hakeem Jeffries, as the only one with a history of achievement and cooperation.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, a Democrat from Jeffries, stated that House Democrats are unified behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber, recalling how their votes repeatedly bailed out Johnson to assure the passage of significant legislation.
After laboring through the night to win over hardline stalwarts, Johnson came with an air of confidence despite resistance from his own GOP colleagues. Without a House speaker, Johnson’s failure may derail Monday’s legislative certification of Trump’s 2024 election triumph. Even Trump’s own support, which is typically a safe bet for Republicans, did not ensure Johnson would remain in office.
As he entered the Capitol, Johnson declared, “We don’t have time for drama.”
Trump gave the Louisiana Republican another gesture of support. Trump said on social media that a victory for Mike today would be a significant victory for the Republican Party.
A high-stakes vote for the House speaker position, one of the most influential political offices in Washington, has replaced the ceremonial day when freshly elected politicians arrived to take the oath of office, frequently accompanied by friends, family, and kids. The senators were being sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Although the Senate can meet independently and has already chosen its party leaders—Senator John Thune for the Republican majority and Senator Chuck Schumer for the Democratic minority—the House must first choose its speaker, who is the second in line to succeed the president according to the Constitution.
It took Republicans almost a week and fifteen rounds of voting to install Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023, a situation that has never happened in Congress before. Then, in a historic first, McCarthy was ejected by his party, but he was also among a long list of GOP speakers who were pushed out early.
With the House and Senate controlled by the Republican Party and Trump vowing to produce significant results on a 100-day plan, the stakes are higher this year.
Johnson has been positioning himself beside Trump and working hard to avoid defeat. He spent New Year’s Day at Mar-a-Lago. The speaker frequently presents himself as the quarterback who will carry out the political maneuvers that the coach, who is the president-elect, calls.
However, weeks before Trump is scheduled to take office on January 20, Johnson also cautioned that if there is no House speaker, there will be a constitutional crisis on January 6, when Congress is legally obligated to count the presidential electoral votes.
“I think everyone understands that we don’t have any time to waste,” he remarked.
After losing seats in the November election, Johnson now holds one of the smallest majorities in modern history. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., abruptly resigned, bringing the total down to 219–215. Although the usual 218 majority of 435 members required could change due to absences and other voters voting only in person, this leaves Johnson depending on nearly all Republicans for support in the face of Democratic resistance.
He lacked the necessary complete support going into Friday.
One of the most prominent holdouts was Texas GOP Representative Chip Roy, an uncompromising Freedom Caucus member who criticized Republican leadership for not cutting spending and following House rules in their handling of the year-end budget bill.
Roy said on social media that something had to change. In the end, he supported Johnson.
Among the far-right Republicans who voted for a different GOP leader, including some who assisted in overthrowing McCarthy, was Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
What more compromises Johnson can make to gain support is uncertain. McCarthy gave out prime favors two years earlier, which seemed to further erode his authority.
A new House rule proposed by centrist conservatives would need at least nine members of the ruling party on any resolution to remove the speaker, upping the bar McCarthy had cut to just one. Johnson has already undone one of those modifications.
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said as he left the speaker’s office late Thursday, “I think the holdouts are going to have to realize that, listen, Trump is right all the time.” Knowing that Trump is always correct will make your decision much easier.
Since his coworkers remind him who has the power in their unbalanced relationship, Johnson is essentially forced to put up with political hazing. After other leaders failed in the wake of McCarthy’s removal, he emerged as a last-ditch candidate for the position.
It is not anticipated that Democrats under Jeffries will not support Johnson, as they have done in the past when he was in danger of being removed.
As the Senate prepares to swiftly start hearings on Trump’s candidates for key Cabinet and administrative positions, the speaker’s election is expected to take center stage during the opening of the new Congress, which also includes a list of historic lawmakers.
For the first time in the history of the country, two Black women senators will serve simultaneously in the Senate. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland were being sworn in while wearing suffragettes’ white costumes.
In addition, New Jersey Sen.-elect Andy Kim is becoming the first Korean American to serve in the Senate.
Sarah McBride is the first openly transgender member of the House of Representatives.
Additionally, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, a reminder of the influence she had when Democrats last controlled the majority, will return to Washington after undergoing hip replacement surgery after suffering a fall abroad.
This report was written by Matt Brown and Adriana Gomez Licon of the Associated Press.
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