Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) won the first round of voting on Friday to retain his speakership. Johnson could only afford to lose one Republican member to win the vote, if all members voted for the same candidate. Johnson lost three House GOP members as the vote initially got underway, which would deprive him of the needed majority unless two of them changed their votes to him, which they eventually did.
Johnson had received the coveted endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump, who personally whipped votes for him. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) had long vowed to vote against Johnson and was joined by Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX) who also initially voted for Republicans other than Johnson. Norman and Self later changed their votes to Johnson, giving him the majority needed to win.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier reported earlier on Friday that Trump personally made calls for Johnson and that Trump world was “cautiously optimistic” he could win on the first ballot. “I am told President-elect Trump this morning has made calls to a few so-called ‘undecided’ Republicans on the speaker vote. We are told ALL of those calls were “positive” for Johnson — notably NOT on the list was Rep. Thomas Massie who has made his no vote clear,” said Baier before adding:
There is cautious optimism in Trump world that Johnson will be elected as Speaker on the first ballot. But- they acknowledge there is some doubt. The President-elect is engaged and watching – and may make more calls.
House Republicans were working to avoid a chaotic, multiple-round vote like the one in January 2023 that eventually saw Kevin McCarthy become speaker on the 15th ballot.
This is a developing story and has been updated.
