With threat of Republican defection eliminated, Mike Johnson re-elected House speaker
Speaker-elect Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, was re-elected as House leader on Friday.
The Louisiana Republican won along party lines on the first ballot, a stark contrast to his predecessor’s drawn-out 15-ballot effort in 2023.
The decision comes despite some conservatives threatening to withdraw support for Johnson in protest of his handling of government funding and several other issues in the 118th Congress.
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Speaker Mike Johnson was re-elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. (Getty/AP)
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who was part of an unsuccessful effort to unseat Johnson last year, was the speaker-elect’s most vocal critic ahead of Friday’s vote.
“You could pull out all my fingernails, you could put bamboo in there, you could start chopping off my fingers,” he told former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on his New One America News Network show .
“I’m not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow, you can take that to the bank,” Massie said.
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Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie appears outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Other critics include members of the House Freedom Caucus, such as Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who has expressed interest in serving as chairman of the influential House Rules Committee, which guides the House Provisions for in-scope legislative voting.
Johnson’s allies have in turn warned that a protracted battle for House speaker could delay a joint session of Congress scheduled for Jan. 6 to confirm President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
President-elect Donald Trump once again endorsed Johnson for speaker. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Johnson also counts as a key supporter of Trump, who emphasized his support for the Republican leader hours before the noon vote.
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“Good luck today to House Speaker Mike Johnson, a talented and good man with very close to 100% support. Mike’s victory today would be a major victory for the Republican Party and another recognition of the greatest victory in our 129 years.” . Trump wrote on his “Truth Social” app.
Johnson responded on the
His victory marked the beginning of his first full term as speaker. Johnson won the gavel in October 2023 after three weeks of closed-door talks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, was ousted.
