Speaker Mike Johnson wins GOP nomination to stay in job, faces full Home vote in new yr

By LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Mike Johnson received the Home Republican nomination Wednesday to stay as Home speaker, on monitor to maintain the gavel after a morning endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump forward of a full Home vote within the new yr.

Whereas Johnson has no critical challenger, he faces dissent inside his ranks, significantly from hard-right conservatives and the Freedom Caucus withholding their votes as leverage to extract guarantees forward.

Trump informed Home Republicans, throughout the president-elect’s first journey again to Washington because the social gathering swept the 2024 election, that he’s with the speaker all the way in which, in line with an individual aware of the remarks however unauthorized to debate the non-public assembly close to the Capitol.

Johnson heaped reward on Trump, calling him the “comeback king.”

It’s been a exceptional political journey for Johnson, the unintentional speaker who rose as a final, most suitable option to switch ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy greater than a yr in the past and shortly set course by positioning himself alongside Trump and main Republicans throughout the elections.

As Johnson tells it, Trump is the “coach” and he’s the “quarterback” as they put together for unified Republican authorities within the new yr.

Johnson has embraced Trump’s priorities mass deportations, tax cuts, gutting the federal workforce and a extra muscular U.S. picture overseas. Collectively they’ve been engaged on what the speaker calls an “ambitious” 100-days agenda hoping to keep away from what he known as the errors of Trump’s first time period when Congress was unprepared and wasted “precious time.”

Whereas Johnson expects to guide the Home in unified authorities, with Trump within the White Home and Republicans having seized the Senate majority, the Home is predicted to stay narrowly cut up, whilst Home management stays undecided with last races significantly in California nonetheless too early to name.

However the issues that include a slim Home majority and plagued Johnson’s first yr as speaker when his personal ranks routinely revolted over his plans are prone to spill into the brand new yr, with a possible recent spherical of chaotic governing.

Johnson wants only a easy majority in Wednesday’s closed-door voting to win the GOP nomination to change into speaker. However he’ll want majority assist of the complete Home, 218 votes, to really seize the gavel on Jan. 3, when the brand new Congress convenes and conducts the election for its speaker. It took McCarthy some 15 rounds of voting in a weeklong election to win the gavel in 2023.

Trump has made Johnson’s issues extra difficult by tapping Home Republicans for his administration, lowering the numbers additional.

Nonetheless, with Trump within the White Home, the speaker could get pleasure from a interval of goodwill from his personal ranks as Republicans are desirous to disrupt the norms of governing and institutionalize Trump’s second-term agenda.

“His challenge is what it’s always been,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the Freedom Caucus, stated of Johnson.

However he stated, “With Trump in charge, it’ll be easier for him to deliver.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who launched a failed effort final yr to oust Johnson from the speaker’s workplace stated: “You know who he’s going to have to answer to? Donald Trump.”

And Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, who wore his “Make America Great Again” tie with matching Trump gold sneakers, informed reporters the social gathering should put apart the chaos of the previous couple of years and unify behind the president-elect.

“If Donald Trump says, ‘Jump three feet high and scratch your head,’ we all jump three feet high and scratch our head,” Nehls stated.

Conservatives have been discussing whether or not to subject their very own candidate as a sign to Johnson as they push their very own priorities, utilizing the identical tactic they did with McCarthy to drive the speaker into concessions, significantly on steeper finances cuts.

As Johnson begins the finances course of for subsequent yr, together with utilizing a so-called finances reconciliation course of that makes it simpler in unified authorities to push Trump’s agenda by the Home and Senate on easy majority votes, conservatives need him to load up these packages with their very own coverage priorities.

Johnson met with conservatives late Monday night for a personal dinner forward of votes.

“We’ll see what happens,” stated Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, amongst these conservatives weighing their choices.

Democrats, who lent Johnson a hand at governing a number of occasions in Congress — supplying the votes wanted to maintain the federal authorities funded and switch again the trouble by Greene to bounce him from workplace — are unlikely to assist him within the new yr as they attempt to put a examine on Trump’s agenda.

“House Democrats are ready to work with the new administration and will extend a hand of bipartisanship whenever possible,” stated Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the chairman of the Democratic Caucus.

However he stated Democrats “will be ready to push against efforts” to throw thousands and thousands of Individuals off well being care and different GOP priorities.

It’s not simply the speaker election Wednesday, however Republicans will even decide their down-ballot management.

Majority Chief Steve Scalise, additionally of Louisiana, and GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota, are anticipated to sail to their reelections in management.

The No. 4 place, the Home GOP convention chair, is essentially the most contested with Trump’s determination to faucet Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as his ambassador to the United Nations. Her departure opens up the submit that’s being contested by a number of GOP lawmakers.

Initially Printed: November 13, 2024 at 1:32 PM PST