President-elect Donald Trump-backed Republican Mike Johnson was re-elected as the US House Speaker in a closely contested race after two of his opponents switched their votes. Johnson secured the position with 218 votes, just enough to clinch the re-election, CNN reported.
Johnson’s victory came after key Republican opponents, Keith Self and Ralph Norman, flipped their votes at the last moment. The House Speaker stated he did not make any promises to Self and Norman to secure their support.
With the Republicans holding a razor-thin majority of 219-215, Johnson could only afford to lose one vote. He required Self and Norman’s backing as Republican Representative Thomas Massie remained opposed to him.
Representative Andy Ogles, a Republican from Tennessee, told CNN that no deals were made to win over Johnson’s detractors. Instead, he said it “was just a matter of getting it done” and credited “persistence” for the outcome.
Notably, it was Donald Trump who convinced the opposing representatives to support Johnson, securing his victory on the first ballot, according to multiple sources cited by CNN. Following the election, Trump congratulated Johnson, saying on Truth Social: “Congratulations to Speaker Mike Johnson for receiving an unprecedented Vote of Confidence in Congress. Mike will be a Great Speaker, and our Country will be the beneficiary. The People of America have waited four years for Common Sense, Strength, and Leadership. They’ll get it now, and America will be greater than ever before!”
In his first remarks as Speaker, Johnson called for a moment of silence to honor the victims of a New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans.
“Of course, these are difficult days in our home state of Louisiana, where I come from,” Johnson said in the House. “We all know about the terrorist attack in New Orleans, and it’s really shaken our state. People are reeling from that attack.”
An ISIS supporter drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street during New Year’s celebrations, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.
Mike Johnson was first elected as the 56th Speaker of the House in 2023.
