Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana secured the gavel on the first vote Wednesday after the House had been without a speaker for three weeks.
Johnson was the House GOP’s fourth speaker nominee since Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role on Oct. 3. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise both withdrew from the race prior to a floor vote, and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan failed to receive enough support after three rounds of voting.
Every House Republican voted for Johnson, and all House Democrats supported Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for speaker.
House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik of New York gave Johnson a nominating speech ahead of the vote and praised the congressman for being a “servant leader” who has the ability to unite GOP members.
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Johnson was one of nine House Republicans vying for the conference’s nomination on Tuesday, which originally elevated Emmer for the position. After Emmer withdrew from the race hours later, Johnson won the nomination against Republican Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, Mark Green of Tennessee and Roger Williams of Texas.
“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system. This conference that you see, this House Republican majority, is united,” Johnson said in a speech following his nomination. “I’m honored to have the support of my colleagues, and what they understand about this is this is servant leadership. We’re going to serve the people of this country, we’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, this institution of government. America is the last best hope of man on the earth — Abraham Lincoln said it, Ronald Reagan used to remind us all the time, and we’re here to remind you of that again. We’re going to restore your trust in what we do here.”
Emmer, Jordan and Scalise all threw their support behind Johnson for speaker. While former President Donald Trump didn’t officially endorse Johnson, he urged House Republicans to vote for the congressman ahead of the floor vote Wednesday.
Johnson is in his fourth term in Congress and serves as the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. The congressman sits on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Armed Services Committee.
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