Mike Johnson just short of winning reelection as House speaker on first ballot

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jan 3, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson fell short of winning reelection on a first ballot Friday, leaving the Republican leader’s future somewhat unclear as he tries to retain his position in the narrowly divided Congress.

Three GOP lawmakers, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Rep. Keith Self of Texas voted against Johnson, meaning he had no path to victory.

A handful of far right-wing Republicans, including House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., stayed silent as their names were called, suggesting they might not back Johnson, before all but one of them eventually voted for the GOP leader.

The final vote on the first ballot was 216-215, with the three holdout Republicans voting for other candidates, sending the election to a second ballot.

Johnson earlier got a boost from President-elect Donald Trump as he faced the tricky vote for reelection in the narrowly divided Congress.

Trump, the undisputed Republican leader, wished Johnson “good luck” ahead of the tight vote in which he needed to win nearly every GOP lawmaker and overcome lingering opposition from far right-wingers.

“Speaker Mike Johnson (is) a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party.”

The president-elect told CNN that he had called some Republican holdouts and said a win for Johnson would “cement” his presidential victory.

“That would just be a big beautiful exclamation point,” Trump said.

Republicans hold a 219-215 edge over Democrats in the incoming House, meaning Johnson could afford to lose only one GOP vote to keep the majority he needs to win.

Massie, a right-wing hardliner, had already vowed not to back Johnson. Several other ultraconservatives have said they are still considering their options.

With Johnson falling short on the first ballot, the voting will continue until he or someone else wins a majority.

All Democrats voted for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, at least on the first ballot.

There could be some horse-trading on later ballots where some Democrats vote “present” to clear the way for Johnson or some other Republican to win with fewer than 218 votes.

Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz had been another wild card because she has said she will no longer caucus with the GOP amid spending disputes. She voted for Johnson

Republicans are in a tight spot because of their unexpectedly anemic showing in House races during the recent election, when they underperformed Trump’s popular vote and electoral college wins.

They won 220 seats compared to 215 for Democrats, who pulled back three seats in New York that had flipped to the GOP in the previous midterms. But ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned his seat in November in a failed bid to become Trump’s attorney general and has said he will not return for the coming Congress.

That left the speaker needing the votes of the remaining 217 other Republicans, plus Spartz, to win the gavel if Democrats as expected all show up and vote against him.

Right-wing Republicans are angry at Johnson because he regularly cut deals with Democrats to fund the government and avert shutdowns, and also agreed to push forward with defense aid to embattled Ukraine.

But there is no obvious alternative to the affable Louisiana lawmaker, especially since he has Trump in his corner for now.

Trump wants the House speaker drama done and dusted by Monday when Congress acts on Jan. 6 to certify his election win, a date that is set by the Constitution.

_________