House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) on Friday ignored threats from a group of far-right lawmakers concerned about his leadership record and efforts to cut spending, defying his most conservative critics. I decided to get over it and keep the gavel in the next Congress.
The victory puts Johnson in the driver's seat of the House, just as President-elect Trump is poised to return to the White House for a second term, giving Republicans control of all power in Washington for at least the next two years. This will make it possible.
It wasn't easy.
Mr. Johnson was initially expected to lose in the first vote on Friday, when three Republican senators voted in favor of elevating another person to the speaker's post. There were two more critics than Mr. Johnson could tolerate, given the total Republican majority. The math changed when two Republicans reversed their votes. The change was brought about by Mr. Trump, who called on Mr. Johnson to lobby during the long vote.
The messy process will give Mr. Johnson the coveted leadership position, but he will be able to unite a restive Republican conference behind President Trump's ambitious legislative agenda starting in early 2025. The aim is to achieve this goal, and future challenges are also predicted.
Here are five takeaways from Friday's chair vote.
Johnson hits the Stunner
Mr Johnson faced strong headwinds heading into Friday's vote. Not only has Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) pledged to oppose his candidacy for the speakership, but about a dozen other conservative Republicans have also withheld their support, most of whom Johnson is required to run for. He expressed concern about his previous willingness to work with Democrats to pass the bill. Laws such as government funding.
The standoff has drawn countless comparisons to the marathon vote two years ago for what was then called the House of Representatives poll, which required 15 votes over four days. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) secured the gavel.
Many observers were bracing for a similar struggle this week. And Johnson's critics appeared poised to block him from taking office – at least in the first vote, with two conservatives joining Massey to slate someone else as the next prime minister. However, the other six people refused to vote at all, leaving observers to speculate about their ultimate intentions.
The three Republican defectors alone were enough to dash Johnson's leadership aspirations. But rather than close out the initial vote with the gavel, Johnson and his allies decided that two holdouts could potentially overturn it: Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Rep. Ralph Norman. A ferocious lobbying campaign began on the House floor, targeting Congressman (South Carolina). .
The conversation eventually moved behind closed doors to one of the cloakrooms off the floor of the chamber, where Trump tried to make a phone call and try to force a change of heart.
It worked.
After about 45 minutes of uncertainty on the House floor, Self and Norman appeared ready to change their votes to support Johnson. This change left Massie the only Republican defector, giving Johnson the gavel.
“What made me change my mind? Mike assured us that we were going to fight for everything moving forward. We trust him,” Norman said afterward.
“There was no negotiation, there was no quid pro quo. He listed what he knew where we stood and agreed to fight, and I trust him.”
Trump takes Johnson to the finish line
Trump's influence over the House Republican conference was in question heading into the speaker's vote after more than 30 Republicans rejected his request to raise the debt ceiling last month.
On Friday, the president-elect ended any uncertainty about his power.
Sources told The Hill that after three Republicans voted for someone other than Johnson in the House of Representatives, President Trump announced that two of the defectors, Norman and Self, would be arrested. , and urged them to change their vote. About an hour after the roll call, two Republican senators endorsed Mr. Johnson.
Norman said Trump was playing golf when he spoke to the protesters.
“He said, look, let's all make this happen, let's not drag this out any longer,” Norman told reporters, recalling his conversation with Trump.
President Trump congratulated Johnson after his victory, calling the result an “unprecedented vote of confidence in Congress.”
“Mike will be a great speaker and our country will benefit from that,” he added. “The American people have been waiting four years for common sense, strength, and leadership. They'll get it now, and America will be greater than ever!”
Johnson also praised President Trump for intervening to halt the lengthy process.
“President Trump is probably the most powerful president, certainly the most powerful president in modern times and probably in American history,” Johnson said.
“His voice and influence are very important.”
Tough road ahead for Republican leaders
Friday's vote showed Mr. Johnson a victory and appealed for party unity in preparation for Mr. Trump's second term. But the difficulties he faced in seizing the gavel, and persistent concerns among conservatives about his declining leadership, are a sign that he and other Republican leaders are aiming to overhaul major programs and institutions. suggests that it will not be easy to appease the various factions of the federal government.
Not only are they trying to tackle some of the thorniest public policy issues facing Congress, from immigration and health care to taxes and trade, they are also most likely to advance partisan reform legislation. Mr. Johnson has virtually no room to leave the party, as the House of Commons majority is so thin. Will it gain the support of the Democratic Party?
These dynamics led to Mr. McCarthy's ouster in 2023, when he chose to support bipartisan legislation to raise the debt ceiling, fund the government and aid Ukraine, all backed by conservative Republicans. It infuriated lawmakers and ultimately forced McCarthy out.
Johnson has also vowed to spread power more evenly across the chamber by giving rank-and-file members a greater say in the drafting process. However, such a promise may be easier said than done. Former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his leadership team also tried to empower rank-and-file members a decade ago, but that strategy created gridlock on the House floor and sank bills that should have passed. I retreated because I was afraid.
Mr Johnson appears to be aware of the challenges ahead, but says he intends to tackle them.
“It's a very different situation than the last Congress because we have a unity government and Republicans control the Senate, the White House and the House of Representatives, and they can hold me accountable for that,” Johnson said. . “We will take a bottom-up, member-led process to develop this really important legislation, and we must succeed.
“We have no margin for error.”
Freedom Caucus sets fire – this time
About a dozen hardline conservatives, including many members of the House Freedom Caucus, withheld their support for Johnson ahead of Friday's vote, leaving the Louisiana Republican's path to the gavel in limbo until just before the roll call. Ta.
In the end, they all supported Mr Johnson in the first vote, holding their views dry while simultaneously firing warning shots at the newly re-elected Speaker.
In a letter to colleagues, the 11 members of the Freedom Caucus, all of whom serve on the group's board, said Monday that despite their “sincere reservations” about Johnson's leadership over the past 15 months, I wrote that I support Mr. Johnson in order to ensure that the certification vote goes smoothly.
But at the same time, they presented Johnson with a series of demands for the 119th Congress, including spending cuts.
“This is a clarification of our position and it’s not really surprising. None of this is something we haven’t talked about many times before. But again, we want the Chairman to We have given the vote, the Speaker is now the Speaker and from now on it is for the House to deliver and we had better get busy delivering it,” Roy said of the letter.
When asked about Johnson's plans for giving birth, Roy said: “It's early.”
When asked how quickly it should be completed, he said, “I don't know.” “You'll know it when you see it.”
Subtle nod to eviction motion
Mr Johnson won a victory this year in securing changes to the rules of the House of Commons that raised the threshold for a forced vote to remove the Speaker. In the 118th Congress, just one member was needed to cast such a vote. In the 119th, that number is 9.
The change would spare Mr. Johnson the wrath of a small group of disgruntled MPs, as he did with Mr. McCarthy. But the Conservatives who took part in Friday's vote also appeared to send a subtle message that they had the numbers to force a motion to step down if Johnson strayed from his pledges of parliamentary authority and fiscal responsibility.
Only three Republicans opposed Johnson outright in the early stages of Friday's speaker vote, while the remaining six remained silent when their names were called. Even if all six ultimately voted in favor, the move signaled clear dissatisfaction with Johnson's style. The speaker keeps the gavel.
Additionally, 11 members of the Freedom Caucus sent a letter to their fellow Republicans on Friday saying they support Johnson in order to seat the speaker in time for Congress to certify Trump's election victory on Monday. It was suggested that only.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said the message to Republican leaders was intentional.
“I think it's very clear. There are 11 of us on the letter, but there were nine people who held their votes for a little while,” Roy said.
“I think it’s clear that things need to change, but I don’t think there’s a lot of wiggle room in that change.”
