On Wednesday, House Republicans finally came together to elect a new speaker of the House after nearly three weeks without a lawmaker to lead the lower chamber. Following his nomination on Tuesday, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected to become the 56th speaker of the House.
In the final tally, Johnson received 220 votes and Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jefferies received 209 votes.
Johnson was the fourth nominee put up by the Republicans to become speaker after Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) all dropped out without receiving the 217 votes necessary to win the speaker's gavel.
The next House speaker has served in Congress since 2017, and he was instrumental in challenging the validity of the 2020 election via a Texas amicus brief. Johnson had voted for any additional Ukraine funding during his tenure other than the initial aid bill when the war began.
He also served on President Trump's legal defense team during the two impeachment trials in 2019 and 2021. In addition, Johnson is a staunch social conservative who introduced the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act in 2022, which sought to ban federal funding for the promotion of transgenderism.
President Trump, who sunk Tom Emmer's candidacy on Tuesday, took to Truth Social on Wednesday morning to urge the House GOP to elect Johnson.
"Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party. Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves. Congratulations to Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (Tennessee), Mark Green (Tennessee), & Roger Williams (Texas), & the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana)," Trump wrote. "I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory. In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN!"
"My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST!" Trump wrote. "LOVE, DJT."
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
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