Johnson wins House speakership on first ballot after brief Republican revolt Republican Mike Johnson has won the House speakership on the first ballot, after swaying two members of his conference who initially voted against him.
When the gavel came down after a lengthy vote, Johnson had won 218 votes while Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, had won all 215 votes of his caucus. One member, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted for fellow House Republican Tom Emmer instead of Johnson.
Two House Republicans who initially cast ballots for other candidates, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, changed their votes to Johnson after conferring with the speaker off the floor while the vote remained open.
With a speaker elected, House members can now be formally sworn in, allowing the chamber to proceed with usual business.
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Summary of the day Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
Republican Mike Johnson was reelected speaker on the first ballot. Johnson won the bare minimum support that he needed, 218 votes, to capture the gavel again. The Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, won all 215 votes of his caucus.
Johnson, accepting the gavel, asked for a moment of silence in the House in honor of the victims of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans. He said Congress would act quickly to defend the nation’s borders, restore America’s energy dominance by ending “ridiculous” electric vehicle mandates, fight inflation, and “drastically” cut back the size and scope of government.
Two House Republicans who initially voted against Johnson flipped to supporting him. The two members, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, changed their votes after conferring with the speaker off the House floor. Donald Trump spoke to both Norman and Self, according to multiple reports. The vote remained open for an unusually long time as Johnson worked to win enough support for a victory.
One House Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, still voted against Johnson. Massie instead cast a ballot for Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip. Because of House Republicans’ narrow majority, one more defection would have sunk Johnson’s speakership bid.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, pledged that Democrats would work with Republicans to achieve bipartisan cooperation whenever possible.
“We need to build an affordable economy for hard-working American taxpayers. Now is the time for us to come together and finally lower the high cost of living in the United States of America once and for all,” Jeffries said in his remarks after the speakership election.
“And we will work with anyone of any party to get that done. We will work with anyone to secure our border, and we will work with anyone to fix our broken immigration system in a comprehensive and bipartisan manner.”
Jeffries went on to deliver a thorough and impassioned defense of benefits programs like Social Security and Medicare, preemptively criticizing Republicans who would call for any cuts to the programs.
Donald Trump spoke to Ralph Norman and Keith Self as Republicans worked to convince them to vote for Mike Johnson and give Mike Johnson the victory on the first ballot, multiple outlets are reporting.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus have issued a statement to say that they supported Mike Johnson for speaker because of their “steadfast support of President Trump.”
“We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker’s track record over the past 15 months,” the caucus said.
Johnson must now “prove he will not fail to enact President Trump’s bold agenda,” they said.
They said legislation put before this body must “stop the flow of illegal aliens completely,” “cut rampant inflationary spending significantly”, and “not increase federal borrowing before real spending cuts are agreed to and in place.”
Mike Johnson says Congress will pass legislation in the coming months to “roll back the totalitarian fourth branch of government known as the administrative state.”
Johnson says Congress will work with the Trump administration to “drastically” cut back the size and scope of government and create a “leaner, faster and more efficient” federal workforce.
“Our people do not deserve to be ruled by millions of bureaucrats,” he says. “They deserve a government that is led by those they’ve elected to lead.”
In terms of the military, Johnson claims the “Washington establishment” has “tried to replace our military warriors with social justice warriors”. “We have to put an end to this madness.”
Mike Johnson says Congress will fight high inflation by giving relief to Americans and extending the Trump tax cuts, protecting US industries from “one-sided” trade deals and bring overseas investments back home.
“It is our duty to restore America’s energy dominance,” the House speaker says. He says Congress will expedite new drilling permits and end “ridiculous” electric vehicle mandates.
Mike Johnson says Congress will act quickly to listen to the voices of the American people. “We will start by defending our nation’s borders,” he says.
The House speaker says Congress, in coordination with Donald Trump, will give border and immigration enforcement agents “the resources that they need to do their job”.
“We will secure the border. We will deport dangerous, criminal illegal aliens, and finally, finish building the border wall,” he says.
Addressing the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, he says: “You said you’d work with us on that. Hakeem, I’m counting on it.”
Mike Johnson urges the preservation of what he calls the “seven core principles of American conservatism”: individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity.
The House speaker says it is the “simple truth” that parents and families should be in charge of their children’s educations, and not administrators.
He says that “open borders” and “over regulation” have “destroyed” US cities and “stifled” innovation, that inflation and “weak” leadership have left Americans “poorer” and placed them in a “perilous” position.
But Johnson says the recent months have shown something “really remarkable” happening, “a groundswell of Americans” who “demand that we put the interest of Americans first again”.
“This is a powerful new coalition of our country. It’s a coalition that insists that we purge the policies of America last and we bury them in the graveyard of history’s mistakes,” he says.
Mike Johnson asks for a moment of silence in the House in honor of the victims of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans before addressing lawmakers.
Johnson says he is grateful for his re-election as speaker and for the confidence that the chamber has placed on him. “It is the great honor of my life to serve this body with all of you,” he says.
He says this is a “momentous” time in the history of the country, which he says is the “the freest, the most powerful, most benevolent nation that has ever been in the history of the world”.
Today so far It’s been an eventful afternoon on Capitol Hill. Here’s where the day stands so far:
Republican Mike Johnson was reelected speaker on the first ballot. Johnson won the bare minimum support that he needed, 218 votes, to capture the gavel again. The Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, won all 215 votes of his caucus.
Two House Republicans who initially voted against Johnson flipped to supporting him. The two members, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, changed their votes after conferring with the speaker off the House floor. The vote remained open for an unusually long time as Johnson worked to win enough support for a victory.
One House Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, still voted against Johnson. Massie instead cast a ballot for Tom Emmer, the House Republican whip. Because of House Republicans’ narrow majority, one more defection would have sunk Johnson’s speakership bid.
The blog will have more coming up as House members are sworn in for the new Congress, so stay tuned.
Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas, supported Mike Johnson today despite speculation that he might vote against the incumbent speaker.
But Roy, who initially did not cast a vote when his name was first said during the roll call, has made clear that Johnson should not perceive his support as a blank check.
“Everything we do needs to set the Congress up for success and to deliver the Trump agenda for the American people,” Roy said in a social media post.
“Speaker Johnson has not made that clear yet, so there are many members beyond the three who voted for someone else who have reservations.”
Johnson wins House speakership on first ballot after brief Republican revolt Republican Mike Johnson has won the House speakership on the first ballot, after swaying two members of his conference who initially voted against him.
When the gavel came down after a lengthy vote, Johnson had won 218 votes while Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, had won all 215 votes of his caucus. One member, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted for fellow House Republican Tom Emmer instead of Johnson.
Two House Republicans who initially cast ballots for other candidates, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, changed their votes to Johnson after conferring with the speaker off the floor while the vote remained open.
With a speaker elected, House members can now be formally sworn in, allowing the chamber to proceed with usual business.
To be clear: the first vote in the House speakership election remains open at this point, as the gavel has not come down yet, so members could still theoretically change their votes.
Mike Johnson just walked off the House floor with two of the dissenting Republicans, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, so it appears the speaker may attempt to sway them.
If Johnson can convince both members to support him, then he might still win the speakership on the first ballot.
Although the first vote in the speakership election has not yet been officially gaveled out, some House Republicans are already voicing their frustration with the three conference members who voted against Mike Johnson.
Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican of Texas who supported Johnson, said in a social media post, “119th Congress starts where the 118th left off. Tough to save a country when Republicans can’t get out of our own way.”
In January 2023, at the start of the last Congress, the House was at a standstill for days as Republican Kevin McCarthy required 15 ballots to capture the speakership.
As the House clerk works to finalize the first vote in the speakership race, the House Democratic whip, Katherine Clark, has sent a notice to caucus members advising them to return to the floor immediately.
Assuming the current vote count stands, the chamber is expected to proceed immediately to a second ballot, as no candidate for the speakership has yet won a majority of support.
The first speakership vote has not yet officially concluded, as Stacey Plaskett, the delegate representing the US Virgin Islands, posed a parliamentary inquiry as to why she and other delegates representing US territories and the District of Columbia were not called upon to participate in the speakership election.
Under House rules, only members representing one of the 50 US states can participate in the speakership election. Plaskett noted that delegates in the chamber collectively represent more than 4 million Americans who would not have a say in the speakership race.
Plaskett’s words were met with a standing ovation from Democrats while Republicans called for order in the chamber.
A sixth House Republican, Chip Roy of Texas, chose not to vote when his name was initially called by the reading clerk.
Even if all six House Republicans who initially withheld their support do end up voting for Mike Johnson, the incumbent speaker will not have enough support to capture the gavel on the first ballot, as at least three of his colleagues have already voted against him.
Third House Republican votes against Johnson A third House Republican, Keith Self of Texas, has now voted against Mike Johnson for speaker. Self instead cast a ballot for his Republican colleague Byron Donalds.
Johnson told reporters this morning that he would continue with his speakership bid past a first ballot if necessary, and the election now appears all but certain to continue to a second ballot.