Update: After leaving the floor with Mike Johnson, Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas changed their votes to support the incumbent speaker. As a result, Johnson won the speakership on his first ballot after an extended pause in the proceedings.
Original story continues below.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., seeking to retain his post for two more years, appears to have lost in the first round of voting to decide who will preside over the House of Representatives for the next Congress.
Republicans, down a member after the departure of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., hold 219 seats in the House to the Democrats' 215 seats. With Democrats voting in unison for their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and expected to keep doing so, Johnson, who needs a majority of votes (218 if all 434 members vote) to win re-election as speaker, can afford almost no margin of error.
The Louisiana Republican failed to meet the threshold in a roll call vote that took place early Friday afternoon. Three Republicans voted for a different member of the caucus — Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Ralph Norman, R-S.C. and Keith Self, R-Texas, cast their ballots for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., House Freedom Caucus chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio and Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Florida, respectively. Five other Republicans critical of Johnson in the past did not vote when their name was called, perhaps in a show of protest, but ended up picking him in the end to avoid a disaster scenario in which Jeffries could win the election.
With the return of the five hardliners to his camp and the backing of the notoriously fickle President-elect Donald Trump, Johnson is hoping to avoid the same fate as his predecessor Kevin McCarthy, who struggled through fifteen rounds of voting at the start of Congress in 2023, only to be forced out by a motion to vacate the chair in October that year due in large part to Republican defections. Like McCarthy, Johnson faces pressure from both the hard-right Freedom Caucus and more traditional Republicans, all while seeking to please Trump.
To placate the right, Johnson released a list of commitments shortly before voting took place, promising to "aggressively" cut federal spending and work with Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" to pare down the government bureaucracy.
Unless Johnson or someone else can muster the majority of votes necessary to become speaker, the House will be essentially frozen in place, with no other option but to vote for a speaker ad infinitum, vote to recess or vote to adjourn. Certification of Trump's victory is due to take place on Jan. 6 — in the absence of a speaker and a working House, Johnson allies have warned, that process cannot take place. If Johnson can't get the votes by then, the House could delay it or choose a temporary speaker to oversee certification.
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