(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., secured the 218 votes needed to hold his position in the first round of voting after two holdouts—Reps. Ralph Norman, R-N.C., and Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, changed their respective votes supporting Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Jim Jordan of Ohio.
Speaker of the People’s House.
Congratulations, @SpeakerJohnson! pic.twitter.com/RXK7Df1f1u
— House Republicans (@HouseGOP) January 3, 2025
“The path of prosperity has long been paved by policies that put America and Americans first, and that is what we will champion in the 119th Congress,” Johnson said in his acceptance speech.
He said the No. 1 priority would be defending the nation’s borders—including support for President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation and border wall agenda.
“You said you’d work with us on that, Hakeem, and I’m counting on it,” Johnson joked after a conciliatory speech by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., that called for bipartisanship in the GOP-controlled Congress.
However, Johnson’s efforts to lead will not be easy, with divisions within the Republican Party also threatening to derail progress.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., made good on his pledge to deny Johnson support, even as last-minute negotiations with Trump allies appeared to be in progress after the initial voting.
Caption this: What is @RepThomasMassie holding out for in this negotiation? pic.twitter.com/S4cAwGyMiE
— Ben Sellers (@realbensellers) January 3, 2025
Massie, considered to be a libertarian budget hawk, threw his support to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., an establishment favorite.
Trump, looking to secure a smooth certification of the Electoral College votes, had earlier pressured other potential rogue Republicans, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
However, the initial shortfall for Johnson underscored the precarious position that House Republicans will find themselves in, with no votes to spare after the departures of Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Mike Waltz, R-Fla., both of whom have been appointed to high-level positions in the Trump administration.
In addition to Massie, the GOP was missing the vote of Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., whose reason for being absent was unclear.
Also unclear is whether Norman and Self were able to secure any sort of leverage by agreeing to switch their votes in favor of Johnson.
Members of the Freedom Caucus were able to negotiate during the start of the previous Congress, in January 2023, by demanding that presumptive Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., submit to a set of rules changes that would effectively cede some of his power to set the agenda.
That came back to haunt McCarthy, however, when then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., invoked a motion to vacate the speakership after McCarthy capitulated to Democrats on a crucial budget negotiation.
Johnson, a relative unknown at the time, was the compromise candidate after several rounds of voting failed to elect more high-profile lawmakers, including Jordan, Emmer and Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the current Republican Majority Leader.
Massie appeared on the debut of Gaetz’s new show on the One America News Network Thursday, during which he said that he would sooner cut off all his fingers than vote for Johnson, who has garnered some criticism also for his inability to stand up to Democrats.
Buy the @OANN Live App to see my first show tonight! @laurenboebert @RepThomasMassie @RepSpartz
and much more!
9pm est
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 2, 2025
Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
