After Delay Following Failed First Vote, Johnson Narrowly Wins Speakership

UPDATE: After the speakership vote concluded, Mike Johnson was seen negotiating with two of the three Republicans who voted against him. The two, Reps. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) and Keith Self (R-Texas), changed their votes before the clerk could certify the ballot count. Johnson has therefore been selected as the speaker of the House at the start of the 119th Congress. The original article, detailing the outcome of the vote when it initially concluded, appears below:

TRepublican Congressman Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was unsuccessful at winning enough votes in the U.S. House of Representatives to retain his position as Speaker of the House on the first day of the House’s meeting for business in its new term.

The failed Friday afternoon vote doesn’t necessarily mean that Johnson will not eventually become speaker heading into the new term, as he and other Republican leaders can hold as many votes as they want if they believe he can eventually win. However, it does put into question who, at the start of 2025, will be leading the House for the considerable future.

For anyone to become speaker, they must attain a majority of support from all representatives in the lower house of Congress. In its initial vote, 434 members were recorded as present. With every Democratic lawmaker present voting against him (and one seat in the House being vacant), Johnson needed to secure at least 218 votes from his own party in order to win the speakership.

Instead, Johnson received only 216 votes from Republicans in the first round of voting. Three Republicans voted for other choices that were not nominated, while Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) received 215 votes.

Republicans are now at an impasse. It’s unclear who they can nominate — Johnson or any other member of the House — that could coalesce enough support from the various factions within the Republican conference to get 218 votes.

The confusion could also potentially upset the schedule for confirming president-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election. The House and the Senate are supposed to convene on January 6 for that purpose — however, it’s unclear whether they can do so, legally, if a speaker isn’t selected first.

It’s possible that the impasse could last several days, beyond the January 6 deadline — indeed, two years ago, it took 15 votes over a week’s time to select former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-California), who faced the same challenge of uniting a number of GOP factions to support him.

McCarthy’s tenure was cut short in October 2023, when a handful of Republicans, joined by Democrats, passed a “motion to vacate” measure against McCarthy, resulting in him becoming the first speaker in U.S. history to be removed.

Beyond the possibility that the ceremonial confirmation of his election win could be delayed, the failed vote also reflects poorly on Trump, as the president-elect used his political capital to campaign for Johnson, calling Republican lawmakers ahead of the ballot in an effort to get Johnson the votes he needed. With Johnson failing to garner the necessary votes on his first try, Trump has failed to demonstrate himself as the irrefutable leader of the GOP, showing that Republican lawmakers in the House — and in the Senate — could thwart him from time to time.