policy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Mike Johnson won re-election as House speaker in a primary vote Friday, defeating far-right GOP holdouts and winning support from President-elect Donald Trump.
During a tense roll call on the primary day of the brand new Congress, a gathering of hard-line Republicans gathered at the back of the House, one after the other refusing to vote or elect one other lawmaker. The standoff sparked recent unrest that implies trouble ahead under unified GOP control of Washington.
In the top, nevertheless, Johnson managed to swap out two remaining holdouts who switched to his support, drawing applause from Republicans.
As the youngest speaker, Johnson's tenuous grip on the gavel threatens not only his own survival but in addition President-elect Trump's ambitious agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations as Republicans rise to power.
Newly elected House members began voting when Johnson's name was recommend for the nomination by GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich.
“No speaker is perfect,” she said. However, the aim is to make progress towards achieving common priorities for the country, she said. “None of us will get exactly what we want.”
Democrats are pitching their very own leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, because the just one with a track record of compromise and success despite “chaos and dysfunction” among the many GOP majority.
“House Democrats stand united behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, D-Jeffries, recalling the repeatedly their votes saved Johnson to make sure passage of vital laws.
Despite opposition from his own GOP colleagues, Johnson entered the race with outward confidence, having worked into the night to win over hardliners. A flop by Johnson could throw Congress's certification of Trump's 2024 election victory into turmoil with out a House speaker on Monday. Even support from Trump himself, often a sure thing for Republicans, was no guarantee that Johnson would remain in power.
“We have no time for drama,” Johnson said as he entered the Capitol.
The Louisiana Republican received one other nod of support from Trump. “A win for Mike today would be a huge win for the Republican Party,” Trump posted on social media.
What was once a ceremonial day when newly elected lawmakers arrived to be sworn in, often with family, friends and youngsters in tow, has was a high-stakes vote for House speaker, one of the crucial powerful elected offices in Washington . Vice President Kamala Harris swears in senators.
While the Senate can meet independently and has already elected party leaders — Sen. John Thune as Republican majority leader and Sen. Chuck Schumer for the Democratic minority — the House must first elect its speaker, a job mandated by the Constitution, second in line to succession Presidents.
Congress has been here before, when it took Republicans nearly every week and 15 rounds of voting to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023, a spectacle unprecedented in modern times. McCarthy was then fired by his party, a historic first, but he was also amongst a protracted list of GOP speakers hounded into early exits.
The stakes are higher this yr as Trump prepares to return to the White House with Republican control of the House and Senate and he guarantees to do big things on a 100-day agenda.
Johnson has worked diligently to avoid defeat, spending New Year's Day at Mar-a-Lago as he sides with Trump. The speaker often portrays himself because the “quarterback” executing the political moves demanded by the “coach,” the elected president.
But Johnson also warned that with out a House speaker by Jan. 6, there can be a “constitutional crisis” when Congress is required by law to count the electoral votes for president, weeks before Trump takes office on Jan. 20 needs to be introduced.
“We have no time to waste, and I think everyone realizes that,” he said.
Johnson has one in every of the narrowest majorities in modern times after losing seats within the November election. With the sudden resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the tally fell to 219-215. This leaves Johnson depending on the support of virtually all Republicans within the face of Democratic opposition, although the everyday required majority of 218 out of 435 members could shift as a consequence of absentees and others who only vote “present”.
Going into Friday, he didn't have the total support he needed.
Among essentially the most notable holdouts was Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, a stalwart member of the Freedom Caucus, who criticized the Republican leadership's handling of the year-end budget bill for failing to chop spending and playing by the foundations of the House of Representatives.
“Something HAS to change,” Roy posted on social media. He ultimately voted for Johnson.
A powerful no vote was Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who voted for an additional GOP leader, as did other far-right Republicans, including some who helped bring down McCarthy.
It is unclear what further concessions Johnson could make to win support. Two years ago, McCarthy handed out top-notch favors that only appeared to weaken his hold on power.
Johnson has already reversed one in every of those changes with a brand new rule pushed through by centrist conservatives within the House of Representatives that might require a minimum of nine members of the bulk party on any vote to remove the speaker – raising the hurdle McCarthy lowered to only one became.
“I think the objectors need to realize that Trump is always right,” said Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas as he left the speaker's office late Thursday. “Just always know that Trump is right, it will help you make a decision easily.”
In some ways, Johnson has no selection but to endure the political harassment of his colleagues, who remind him who holds sway of their one-sided relationship. He was the last selection for the office, rising from the back bench after other leaders failed following McCarthy's ouster.
Democrats under Jeffries aren’t expected to fail to save lots of Johnson, as they’ve done up to now with their votes when he was threatened with removal.
The speaker's selection is prone to shape the opening of the brand new Congress, which also brings with it numerous storied members because the Senate expects to soon begin hearings on Trump's nominees for top Cabinet and administration positions.
In the Senate, two black women — Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland — were sworn in, each wearing white suffragette suits, the primary time within the country's history that two black female senators have served at the identical time.
Senator-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey also makes history as the primary Korean American to hitch the chamber.
In the House of Representatives, Sarah McBride is the primary openly transgender person in Congress.
And Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi, who recently fell overseas and underwent hip substitute surgery, will herself return to Washington, a reminder of the facility she wielded the last time Democrats were in the bulk.
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