Despite opposition, Trump’s Republicans reelect Mike Johnson as Speaker of the US House

By a narrow margin, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson was reelected to the chamber’s top position on Friday, highlighting possible divisions among the Republicans of President-elect Donald Trump on Capitol Hill.

After extensive talks, two Republican opponents shifted their votes to back Johnson, who at first seemed to lack the majority he needed to save his position in a roll-call vote that lasted over two hours. At least one of them claimed to have received a call from Trump personally.

Johnson received the bare minimum of 218 votes to win reelection. Republicans hold a slim 219–215 majority in the chamber.

Johnson promised to tear back regulations and prolong Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire this year, after the vote.

“We’re going to drastically cut back the size and scope of government,” he stated.

There will be more significant obstacles to overcome, such as the nation’s debt of over $36 trillion, which Congress must address later this year.

The vote on Friday served as a preliminary gauge of Republicans’ unity as they push through Trump’s agenda of border security and tax cuts. Trump’s influence on Capitol Hill, where some Republicans have indicated a readiness to oppose him, was also put to the test.

Over the past two years, internal conflicts have plagued House Republicans. After the party deposed his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, in the middle of his tenure, Johnson was promoted to speaker.

After voting ended, Congressmen gathered in the chamber for around 30 minutes, during which time Johnson and his lieutenants were observed attempting to convince the dissenters.

One of the three Republicans who first voted against Johnson, Representative Keith Self, claimed to have had a “lively” conversation with Trump after casting his vote. He claimed to have obtained a pledge that right-wing party members will be involved in the development of prominent immigration and tax legislation.

“We needed more input from members like myself — not a chairman, not a leadership position — and I think that’s what we have done,” he stated to reporters.

Self went back to the House floor to vote for Johnson with Representative Ralph Norman. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a legislator close to Johnson claimed that although the speaker pledged to conduct the House in a “constructive” manner, they did not consent to any particular rule changes in order to get their support.

The only Republican to vote against Johnson was Representative Thomas Massie, a longtime nemesis of his party’s leadership and an outspoken opponent of Johnson.

Before voting for Johnson, six more Republicans had first refused to cast a ballot.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who voted for Johnson, was seen by a Reuters photographer using her iPhone while displaying the name of Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

After the vote, Trump congratulated Johnson. “Mike will be a great speaker, and our country will be the beneficiary,” he said on social media.

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When Republicans pushed out McCarthy and failed to settle on a successor during three weeks of unrest in October 2023, the placid 52-year-old Louisiana lawmaker was catapulted from obscurity into one of Washington’s most powerful positions. Although he was chosen by a majority, the conservative Christian attorney has subsequently had difficulty maintaining party unity.

Johnson has a significant job ahead of him in a position that is second only to the vice president for the presidency. Later this year, Congress will need to confront the nation’s debt ceiling in addition to taking on Trump’s expansive legislative agenda.

If the Senate approves two Republican congressmen to posts in Trump’s cabinet, which starts on January 20, Johnson’s 219-215 Republican majority is expected to shrink even more, at least temporarily.

Trump has appointed Mike Waltz as his national security advisor and Elise Stefanik as his ambassador to the UN. When Republican Matt Gaetz was selected to be Trump’s attorney general, he resigned from Congress, leaving another seat open. In response to claims of sexual misbehavior, Gaetz also resigned from that role.

Later this year, special elections are scheduled to fill all three seats, which represent districts that lean heavily Republican.

On Friday, Senator John Thune was inaugurated in as the new leader of the Republicans, who now hold a 53-47 Senate majority.

Johnson’s persistent reliance on Democrats to secure the votes necessary to enact important legislation, such as bills to maintain federal agencies, has infuriated some conservatives over the last year. Late last month, he also had to contend with a last-minute challenge from Trump, who ordered House Republicans to revoke a federal funding agreement and insist that it also lift the national debt ceiling.

Just hours before the government would have shut down, a revised version of the bill—which did not include Trump’s demand for a debt ceiling—passed the House with more Democratic backing than Republican support.