U.S. President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as he meets with House Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2024.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
The House of Representatives on Friday began voting on its next speaker after outgoing Speaker Mike Johnson was nominated by Republicans and Democrats nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
Johnson was on track to fall short of winning the speakership on the first ballot after three of his fellow Republicans voted for other candidates. Voting was still ongoing as of 1:36 p.m. ET.
Earlier Friday, President-elect Donald Trump again called on fellow Republicans to select Johnson as speaker.
Trump’s support on social media came as Johnson — whose current term as speaker expired at 11 a.m. ET — faced a very tight vote in the House, where the GOP holds an ultra-slim majority.
With all 434 House members showing up for the vote, Johnson will need nearly every Republican to vote for him to become speaker.
“Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!!” Trump wrote. “A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!”
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Johnson, who represents a district in Louisiana, needs a majority of the House members to become speaker for the 119th Congress.
Republicans have 219 seats in the new Congress. Democrats hold 215 seats.
That narrow split means that, if every House member is in attendance and every Democrat votes for the New Yorker Jeffries, Johnson will need a minimum of 218 Republican votes to be elected speaker.
If two or more Republicans decide to vote for someone else, Johnson’s overall support would fall below 218, and he would not be elected speaker on that vote.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, previously said he would not support Johnson.
Massie voted for Rep. Tom Emmer on the first ballot Friday.
Another Republican, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, voted for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
Johnson was first elected speaker on Oct. 25, 2023, three weeks after then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, was ousted from that slot when a handful of Republican members joined every Democrat to vote for his removal.
Johnson was the fourth nominee considered to replace McCarthy.
McCarthy had only been speaker himself for nine months when he was removed — he was first elected speaker in January 2023 after four days of voting and 15 ballots.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.