The USA Home of Representatives has re-elected Republican Mike Johnson as its speaker, in a vote seen as a nail-biting test of party unity prematurely of President-elect Donald Trump’s second time period within the White Home.
However Johnson’s marketing campaign to maintain the speaker’s gavel was not with out its bumps on Friday.
Johnson emerged victorious after an unsure first spherical of voting, as some members of his celebration initially withheld their votes over points like his position within the latest bipartisan finances negotiations.
He finally received the speakership with 218 votes out of a complete of 435, after two of the holdouts — Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas — modified their votes.
One other 215 votes, all Democratic, went to minority chief Hakeem Jeffries. Consultant Thomas Massie, who had pledged to refuse Johnson, forged his vote for fellow Republican Tom Emmer.
The tight vote underscored the slender margin of management Republicans have over the chamber. With solely 219 seats within the Home, Republicans will want practically each vote they’ve to achieve a majority in a party-line vote.
Which will give sure far-right members higher sway over laws, as they train their leverage.
Friday’s vote for Johnson additionally put Trump’s means to muster Republican votes beneath the microscope. He had referred to as on the celebration to again Johnson, as he prepares to pursue an formidable agenda of tax cuts and mass deportation when he takes workplace on January 20.
A brand new Congress for 2025
The vote for the speakership got here on the primary day of the 119th Congress, following November’s normal election. Republicans maintain majorities in each the Home and the Senate, after flipping the higher chamber from Democratic management.
The race for the speakership was anticipated to be a nail-biter because the Home gathered for its first session of the brand new 12 months.
A number of Republicans had pledged within the lead-up to the session to reject Johnson, notably after he led a bipartisan push to go a temporary budget bill in December.
Some objected to the dearth of spending cuts. Others felt frustration that the invoice didn’t handle the federal borrowing restrict, as President-elect Trump had demanded.
However on Friday morning, prime Republicans appeared to rally round Johnson, together with Trump himself.
“Good luck right this moment for Speaker Mike Johnson, a effective man of nice means, who could be very near having 100% help,” Trump wrote on social media.
“A win for Mike right this moment can be an enormous win for the Republican Celebration, and yet one more acknowledgment of our 129 12 months most consequential Presidential Election!!”
Whereas Trump had previously endorsed Johnson, he had additionally stated the “others are excellent, too”.
Later, on the Home ground, Consultant Lisa McClain, one other main Republican, gave a speech to appoint Johnson. She positioned his management within the context of broader celebration priorities.
“Now we have the chance to place America first once more. Now we have a chance to do one thing about crime. Now we have a chance to do one thing in regards to the border. And we have now a chance to handle our veterans,” McClain stated.
She briefly appeared to acknowledge the opportunity of celebration discord over the vote.
“No speaker is ideal. And nobody will ever be. Nonetheless, attaining perfection requires incremental positive factors and exhausting selections alongside the best way. None of us will get precisely what we wish,” McClain stated.
Johnson himself exuded an air of confidence when he arrived on the Capitol on Friday, having spent the night time in search of to win over hardline holdouts.
“We don’t have time for drama,” Johnson stated as he walked into the Capitol on Friday.
A good vote
Nonetheless, after the roll-call vote was held, Johnson was initially shy of the 218 votes wanted for victory.
Three Republicans initially forged their votes for different candidates. Norman tapped Jim Jordan, Massie backed Emmer and Self put ahead Byron Donalds.
A number of different Republicans — together with Chip Roy of Texas, one other Johnson critic — provided no vote in any respect. However when requested after the primary vote if they might again a candidate, Roy and others supported Johnson.
A bunch of Republicans — together with a number of holdouts — briefly left the Home ground with Johnson to barter. Once they returned, Norman and Self modified their vote.
In a Friday post on the social media platform X, Massie defined why he would stay a holdout, voting “hell no” on Johnson’s management. He expressed concern Johnson wouldn’t have the ability to enact Trump’s legislative priorities.
“President Trump’s agenda must develop into regulation. Speaker Johnson has already demonstrated he isn’t the person who can get that carried out,” Massie wrote.
Trump agenda
The speakership election comes after Republicans additionally elected John Thune because the Senate’s majority chief, with Chuck Schumer representing the Democratic minority within the chamber.
Thune has pledged to shepherd via Trump’s agenda, even supposing Republicans maintain solely 53 seats within the 100-person chamber. That falls in need of the 60-vote supermajority wanted to beat the filibuster, a way for the minority to stall or scuttle laws.
Each chambers of Congress can be confronted with a number of controversial items of laws this upcoming 12 months, setting the stage for heated battles.
Congress might want to revisit the query of funding the federal authorities when the present finances invoice expires in March. And it’ll additionally have to weigh elevating the debt ceiling — the quantity the federal authorities is ready to borrow — later this 12 months.
The federal authorities already has greater than $36 trillion in debt, and plenty of congressional Republicans are anticipated to demand important spending cuts going ahead.
The election of a Home speaker, as soon as thought of a ho-hum ceremony, has develop into more and more contentious lately. In 2023, the chamber went via 15 rounds of voting over 4 days earlier than electing Kevin McCarthy to the position.
Johnson, a low-profile conservative Christian lawyer from Louisiana, was elevated to speaker after the celebration ousted McCarthy in the course of his time period.
Within the wake of his re-election, Johnson pledged to “reject enterprise as typical” within the Home.
“We’re going to drastically reduce the scale and scope of presidency,” he stated in a speech to members.
