Republican Mike Johnson survived a razor-thin vote to remain House Speaker in a drama-filled, highly-anticipated vote that marked the start of complete Republican control in Washington.
Johnson could only afford to lose two votes because of the tight margin of control Republicans have in Congress. While he came close to losing re-election, he survived the vote after some lobbying
President-Elect Donald Trump previously endorsed Johnson for the role of House Speaker, saying “a win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party”.
The House Speaker is one of the most powerful posts in Washington, controlling the lower chamber of the US Congress, and second in line to the presidency after the vice president.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, was backed by nearly all Republicans in his bid for re-election.
But that success was not without some controversary.
The vote for Speaker requires a candidate to receive the support of a majority of the House – 218 votes.
But because of a razor-thin Republican majority in the House, Johnson could only stand to face opposition from two Republicans.
Johnson already faced one hard “no” from Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
“You can pull all my fingernails out. You can shove bamboo up in them. You can start cutting off my fingers. I am not voting for Mike Johnson,” Massie said Thursday in a television interview.
Several other Republicans had put themselves in the “undecided” column heading into the vote.
During the initial votes, three of those undecided Republicans voted for other lawmakers over Johnson, preventing him from reaching the 218 votes he needed.
Three lawmakers – Massie, South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman and Texas Congressman Keith Self – named other options to serve as the next Speaker.
That led Johnson to flee the House floor and lobby members to back him. Some 45 minutes later, he returned to the House chamber.
Both Norman and Self changed their votes to back Johnson.
The gavel struck and Johnson won re-election.
Norman told reporters after the election that he changed his vote after speaking with Johnson in a room outside the House chamber.
Norman spoke with Trump twice during the Speaker vote.
The first time was when fellow Republican Nancy Mace of South Carolina handed him her phone to speak with the President-Elect.
The second was while meeting with Johnson, Self and several others.
Norman said the President-Elect also said Johnson is the only one who has the likeability to win the Speaker election.
Self told reporters after the vote that he spoke with Trump before and after the Speaker election.
He said he changed his mind when Johnson pledged there would be more members, including from the far-right House Freedom Caucus, at the negotiating table.
BBC
