Mike Johnson wins reelection as House speaker on first ballot with boost from Trump

Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News on Jan 3, 2025

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House Speaker Mike Johnson won reelection on the first ballot Friday after the Republican leader wrangled final support from a few reluctant right-wing hardliners.

Johnson, who enjoyed the support of President-elect Trump, won the vote by 218-215, with only one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, voting against him.

He proclaimed his win as a victory for Trump’s “America first” agenda and declared a sweeping mandate from the 2024 election that gave Republicans unified control of the House, Senate and White House.

“The American people have called on us to reject business as usual and throw out the status quo,” Johnson said Friday. “We must and we will heed their call.”

Johnson ticked off MAGA legislative goals like securing the southern border, reducing prices, cutting taxes and slashing red tape.

“Those aims don’t have an R or a D next to them,” Johnson said, referring to the two rival parties. “They have a U.S.A. That’s what we are about.”

Trump wasted little time giving Johnson a strong vote of confidence, declaring that the affable Louisiana Republican would make a “great speaker.”

“The people of America have waited four years for common sense, strength and leadership,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “They’ll get it now, and America will be greater than ever before!”

The win amounted to a big victory for Trump, who gave Johnson a boost as he faced the tricky vote for reelection in the narrowly divided Congress.

Trump, the undisputed Republican leader, had wished Johnson “good luck” ahead of the tight vote in which he needed to win nearly every single GOP lawmaker and overcome lingering opposition from far right-wing representatives.

“A win for Mike (is) a big win for the Republican Party,” Trump said before the vote.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn handed Johnson the speaker’s gavel with a wide smile after delivering a speech in which he congratulated Republicans on their election win and vowed to work together.

“The American people need us to put down our partisan swords and pick up bipartisan plowshares,” Jeffries said, quoting from the Bible. “It’s time for us to come together not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Americans, to get things done.”

Jeffries, who stands to become the first Black speaker if Democrats win back the chamber, said he would work with Johnson to secure the border and “fix our broken immigration system.”

But he warned that Democrats would fight tooth and nail to block cuts to social programs like Social Security and Medicare.

“No means never,” he said. “Keep your hands off Social Security and Medicare.”

Republicans hold a 219-215 edge over Democrats in the incoming House, meaning Johnson could only afford to lose one GOP vote to keep the majority he needed to win the speakership.

Massie, a right-wing hardliner, had already pledged not to back Johnson. Several other ultra-conservatives said they were still considering their options ahead of the vote.

Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Rep. Keith Self of Texas initially voted against Johnson, leaving his path to victory unclear. But they flipped and supported him after about an hour of backroom horse-trading.

Johnson insisted he didn’t make any concessions to the rebels.

A handful of other far right-wing Republicans, including House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., stayed silent as their names were called, suggesting they might not back Johnson, before all of them eventually voted for the GOP leader.

All Democrats voted for Jeffries.

Republicans were in a tight spot because of their unexpectedly anemic showing in House races during the recent election, when they underperformed Trump’s popular vote and electoral college wins.

They won 220 seats compared with 215 for Democrats, who pulled back three seats in New York that had flipped to the GOP in the previous midterms. But ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned his seat in November in a failed bid to become Trump’s attorney general and did not return for the new Congress.

That left the speaker needing the votes of all but one of the remaining Republicans, including Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz, who said she would no longer caucus with the GOP amid spending disputes. She voted for Johnson.

Right-wing Republicans remain angry at Johnson because he regularly cut deals with Democrats to fund the government and avert shutdowns, and also agreed to push forward with defense aid to embattled Ukraine.

But there was no obvious alternative to the good-natured Louisiana lawmaker, especially since he has Trump in his corner for now.

Trump wanted the House speaker drama to be done and dusted by Monday when Congress acts on Jan. 6 to certify his election win, a date that’s set by the Constitution.

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