Johnson may still struggle to get the gavel back, as even Trump’s endorsement may not convince all Republicans to support him. The first order of business for the new House of Representatives, which will meet on Friday to begin the 119th Congress, is to elect a speaker.
The current holder of the gavel, Speaker Mike Johnson, looks to be in better shape than former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was at the start of the 118th Congress, when it took 15 rounds of voting before the Californian was able to get through. He was booted just nine months later, making room for Johnson after weeks of chaos.
Instead, Johnson did what he and McCarthy mostly did during the 118th Congress, and turned to the Democrats for help in order to pass a temporary spending bill and avoid a government shutdown. As the Republicans and Democrats head back to the House Friday, the GOP’s majority is slim — 219 seats to the Democrats’ 215 — which gives Johnson less leverage. Meanwhile, several Republicans have shared their reluctance to make Johnson speaker once more.
But one of Johnson’s top calling cards is that he has been endorsed by Trump, who has said he’d be willing to make calls for Johnson. Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who headed the effort to block and subsequently remove McCarthy, is no longer part of the calculations. He resigned from his post when he attempted to become Trump’s attorney general and has said that he won’t be taking his seat in the 119th Congress.
.png?trim=23,0,39,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=1000)
