representative. Mike Johnson Louisiana was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives House of Representatives On Friday he was on the first ballot after two of his three colleagues Republicans Those who initially voted for other caucus members switched their votes to him.
Representatives Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas flipped their votes to Johnson after meeting with him near the House floor while 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 of Minnesota — in the final tally, giving Johnson the 218 votes he needed to win.
Neither Emmer nor the other Republicans whom Norman and Self voted for first — Jim Jordan of Ohio and Byron Donalds of Florida — were nominated for or seeking Speaker.
Johnson defeated Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who was nominated by his fellow Democrats. Jeffries received all 215 caucus votes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Los Angeles) stands with the gavel after taking the oath of office, on the first day of the 119th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 3, 2025.
Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters
President-elect Donald TrumpHe, who supported Johnson’s nomination, congratulated him in a social media post on “receiving an unprecedented vote of confidence in Congress.”
“Mike will be a great speaker, and our country will benefit,” Trump wrote. “The people of America have waited four years for common sense, strength, and leadership. They will get it now, and America will be greater than ever!”
Johnson took his place as Speaker of the House of Representatives after the vote and called for a minute of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack that occurred on New Year’s Day in New Orleans.
Johnson was first elected president on October 25, 2023, three weeks after then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, was removed from the position when a handful of Republican members joined every Democrat in voting to remove him.
Johnson was the fourth candidate to be considered to replace McCarthy.
McCarthy had been Speaker of Parliament for just nine months when he was sacked – and was first elected Speaker in January 2023 after four days of voting and 15 ballots.
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2025-01-04 14:42:00
