Trump-backed Mike Johnson remains House speaker after Republican holdouts flip votes at last minute
Share:
Johnson held onto the speaker’s gavel after Ralph Norman and Keith Self swapped their votes. Mike Johnson has become speaker of the House after a delay caused by a handful of insurgent Republicans who revolted against him during the first vote of the 119th Congress.
![[A man holds a tally sheet, as U.S. representatives gather to vote for their new speaker of the House]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/03/18/newFile-5.jpg)
Johnson earned the vote of 218 Republicans, the bare minimum needed to win the speaker’s gavel, after discussions with two holdouts who ended up flipping their votes at the last moment. Massie voted for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, while Ralph Norman of South Carolina voted initially for Jim Jordan, and Keith Self of Texas voted for Byron Donalds of Florida.
![[The Bayou State Republican, a relatively unheralded backbencher, came to power as a compromise candidate after the unprecedented ouster of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/03/17/28030a2708924af79d3ea1fd082d79f6.jpg)
It appeared Johnson would have to wait for a second ballot as the House stood still for a nearly 90-minute period, during which he conferred with the recalcitrant members in the GOP cloakroom. At approximately 4:30 p.m., Normal and Self emerged from the cloakroom and walked to the clerk’s desk at the foot of the speaker’s rostrum.
After a brief exchange, the acting clerk called the House back to order and both members were recorded as changing their votes, giving Johnson the majority and the gavel it confers. The reversal leading to Johnson’s victory comes after President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson and said he would make calls on Johnson’s behalf in the days leading up to the vote for a speaker, which must be completed before the House can conduct any further business.
In the end, it took arm-twisting from Johnson himself to break the stalemate. Republicans have only 219 seats, a slim majority, meaning a single defection on their side can block their agenda. That number will whittle down in the coming weeks as Republicans like Elise Stefanik of New York and Michael Waltz of Florida leave to join Trump’s administration.
