House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) won reelection to the chamber’s top job Friday, but the victory was marred slightly by last-minute holdouts.
The vote was 218 to 215 in Johnson’s favor over Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). After about a 45-minute delay, Johnson received all of the House GOP’s votes with the exception of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
While Johnson’s win was technically on the first and only ballot, he won only due to last-minute vote changes by two House Republicans, dragging the vote out to about 45 minutes.
Johnson approached the rostrum with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), who told the clerk to change their votes. Johnson shook their hands and the Republican side of the room burst into applause.
The win meant Republicans avoided a repeat of the spectacle of 2023, when then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) needed 15 rounds of voting to win. But it also showed how tenuous Johnson’s hold on the majority may be.
But Johnson had President-elect Donald Trump in his corner and tied his own fate to that of Trump’s legislative agenda, which Republicans hope to get a quick jump on this year. Trump, despite being reportedly critical of Johnson’s handling of a year-end temporary spending deal, had publicly endorsed Johnson and did so again Friday morning.
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!!” Trump posted on social media.
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In 2023, McCarthy made concessions to holdouts to finally get the speaker’s gavel but he ended up being ousted anyway in October of that year. Johnson had also lobbied his colleagues well into Thursday night in hopes of pulling out a first ballot win.
“My conversations with my colleagues have gone great, and a lot of members have come in very thoughtfully, in good faith, with process improvements and things they’d like to see differently,” he told Fox News.
It was not immediately clear what changed Norman’s and Self’s minds or whether Johnson had promised them anything for their votes.