Washington — House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to avoid that. The same fate experienced by his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, two years earlier: an embarrassing, drawn-out floor fight for the speaker’s gaol.
A small band of right-wing rioters is threatening to derail Johnson’s bid to retain the speakership on Friday. Competing with an existing speaker would normally be a difficult task. But Republicans persist. Such a paper majority in the new 119th Congress That only two GOP defectors could keep Johnson from getting the top job for another two years.
Three days earlier, Johnson received a big boost when President-elect Donald Trump publicly gave the Louisiana Republican his “full and complete endorsement,” arguing that Johnson’s election would give the GOP-controlled Congress his 2025 seat. It will help in the implementation of the agenda. The speaker said she spent New Year’s Day with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, shortly after. The cyber truck exploded. Outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas.
But Johnson has already lost one GOP vote. Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky, Rallying allies on X against Johnson.which he accuses. Great deals on government spendingknown as the renewal of Ukraine aid and a powerful surveillance program. FISA Section 702.
Unexpected Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., is also expected to watch, lawmakers said. He has Not committed to backing the Speaker. And looking for something Assurances.
“I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan are working,” Massey said. Written on X before the new year. “We’ve seen Johnson partner with Democrats to funnel money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow up the budget.”
On Thursday afternoon, Johnson hosted a handful of opponents in his office to hear their demands. Spartz was there, along with several members of the House Freedom Caucus: Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md. Past chairmen Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Scott Perry, R-Pa. and Rep. Ralph Norman, RS.C.
Norman described it as a good debate that focused on things like spending cuts, but said he remained undecided and would not announce his decision on Johnson until Friday’s floor vote, which The chamber is left in suspense.
Norman said Trump’s endorsement “means a lot,” adding that “people trust Mike Johnson.”
For his part, Johnson is expressing confidence that he will retain the gavel in a public roll call scheduled for Friday afternoon — the first vote of the new Congress when every member of the House verbally votes on their choice for speaker. A vote should be cast.
Democrats are expected to vote for New York Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. And nearly all Republicans will cast their ballots for Johnson, who won his party’s nomination for speaker shortly after the Nov. 5 election.
After his meetings Thursday, Johnson left his office and said he hoped to win the election on the first ballot. “I hope that’s the plan,” he told reporters.
During an appearance on Fox News earlier in the day, Johnson pushed for Trump’s endorsement and warned that any political games with the speakership May delay Congressional confirmation of Trump’s election victory on Monday, January 6. Like delaying organizing itself into a new Congress because of national security threats Deadly attack on New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
No other business can be done until the house elects its leader. This means that House committees cannot be organized, bills cannot be introduced and other votes cannot take place.
“We’ll get it done. Look, the things we’re talking about this morning are an example of the fact that we live in very serious times. We can’t afford any palace drama here. We need Congress. , which starts tomorrow, and we have to act immediately,” Johnson said on Fox News.
“We have to confirm the election of President Donald J. Trump on Monday, Jan. 6. And there are so many important things pressing on us right now, so there’s no time to waste. We have to stay united.”
Johnson faces the same math problem that McCarthy faced just two years ago when a small group of conservative rebels. Under the leadership of then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. – Collaborated with Democrats to prevent McCarthy from winning. It took 15 rounds of voting over several days, and Trump’s personal phone calls, to convince the Gatz group to withdraw.
Because of his own small majority, McCarthy would only Briefly won the speakership. But just 269 days later, Gaetz again worked with Democrats to unseat McCarthy, waging a no-holds-barred battle to succeed him that stalled all House business for three weeks. .
In the end, Johnson, then the No. 7 GOP leader in the House with no known enemies, was unanimously elected speaker after more senior ranking leaders tried and failed.
On Fox, Johnson acknowledged that he is dealing with a challenging “numbers game.” Republicans held a 220-215 majority in November. But Getz resigned. stepped down after the election and said he would not be sworn into the new 119th Congress on Friday, cutting the GOP’s advantage to 219-215.
Johnson will need at least 218 votes – a simple majority – to win the gavel if all House members are present on Friday.
He said he spent the holidays reaching out to “every single one” of his GOP critics. And, he told Fox, he’s making the case that he’s the best person for the job and that Republicans — who will control all the levers of power in Washington later this month — will support Trump’s legislation. Cannot afford to delay implementing the agenda, including tax reform. Cutting and strengthening Border security.
He recently told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he had a 45-minute phone call with his loudest critic, Spartz.
“We have a unified government starting tomorrow. We have the White House, the Senate and the House — a very different situation than we’ve had in the last 14 months since I’ve been speaker,” Johnson said. said on Fox. “That’s why we’re excited to introduce the America First Agenda.”
If Johnson manages to secure the gavel, House Republicans are set to vote quickly on a rule change that would make it harder to oust him from the speaker’s office midway through his two-year term.
Under current rules, any House lawmaker can file a resolution and vote to expel the Speaker. “Motion to Vacate.” Thus McCarthy was removed from power.
But the proposed GOP rules package for the new Congress says no fewer than nine lawmakers are needed to trigger a floor vote to impeach the speaker, and nine must be members of the majority party — in this case, Republican.
The rules change was part of a deal reached shortly after the November election between leaders of the far-right House Freedom Caucus and the leadership-friendly Main Street Caucus.