President-elect Donald Trump once more called on his Republicans to elect Representative Mike Johnson because the party's spokesman House of Representatives on Friday because the 119th Congress prepared to convene.
Trump's support on social media got here as Johnson – whose current term as speaker expired at 11 a.m. ET – faces a potentially very close vote within the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a particularly slim majority.
If all 434 members of the House of Representatives show as much as vote, Johnson would need to vote for just about all Republicans to turn into speaker.
“Good luck today to Speaker Mike Johnson, a great man with great ability who is on the verge of receiving 100% support,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“A win for Mike today would be a major victory for the Republican Party and further recognition of our most consequential presidential election in 129 years!!” Trump wrote. “A GREAT ACKNOWLEDGMENT, INDEED. MAGA!”
Johnson, who represents a district in Louisiana, needs a majority of House members present for Friday's vote to turn into speaker of the 119th Congress. Voting is scheduled to start sometime before 1 p.m. ET.
The Republicans have 219 seats in the brand new Congress. The Democrats, who will nominate New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, have 215 seats.
This close split means Johnson will need a minimum of 218 Republican votes to be elected speaker if all House members are present and all Democrats vote for Jeffries.
Should two or more Republicans determine to vote for another person, Johnson's total support would fall below 218 and he wouldn’t be elected speaker in that vote.
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has already said he has no plans to support Johnson and that he can have no wiggle room in any respect if Massie follows through on his promise.
Johnson was elected Speaker for the primary time on October 25, 2023, three weeks after then-Rep. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, was ousted from that seat when a handful of Republican members joined all Democrats to vote for his removal.
Johnson was the fourth candidate considered to exchange McCarthy.
McCarthy himself had only been speaker for nine months when he was ousted – he was elected speaker for the primary time in January 2023 after 4 days of voting and 15 ballots.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
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