Mike Johnson failed his first test to retain power over a super-slim GOP majority on Friday after three Republicans voted against Donald Trump’s chosen candidate for speaker of the House.
However, he and his allies continued efforts to try to convince rebels to change their votes and support him. But a second vote was expected to ensue should they fail to prevail on the first vote.
Rep. Thomas Massie declared Thursday night that he couldn’t even be tortured into supporting Johnson. He voted instead for Rep. Tom Emmer to become speaker of the new 119th Congress.
Johnson lost three Republicans in all. Rep. Ralph Norman voted for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan for speaker. And Rep. Keith Self voted for Rep. Byron Donalds.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, appearing on Fox News during the vote, called the current House Republicans who voted against Johnson “insanely destructive.”
But there was still hope for the embattled top leader. Multiple Republicans told the Daily Beast they believe Johnson will manage to lock down support in subsequent ballots, with conservatives looking to send a message to the Louisiana Republican: you’re on notice.
Rep. Lisa McClain, the new Republican Conference Chair, officially nominated Johnson for speaker of the new Congress, saying, “No speaker is perfect, and no one will ever be, however, achieving perfection requires incremental gains and hard decisions along the way. None of us will get exactly what we want.”
She praised Johnson as “an honest broker” who is the “same kind and caring person” he was before he was chosen in late 2023 to replace Kevin McCarthy after his ouster.
Honest, kind and caring or not, Johnson faced a similar fate as McCarthy on Friday, with hardline conservative rebels angry with him for his decisions regarding government spending. Governing such a slim House Republican Conference, which has been marred by infighting among warring factions, has proven a nearly impossible task for the past two speakers.
Trump threw his weight behind Johnson in the hours leading up to the vote. Sources warned Trump would likely take aim at defectors if a drawn-out speaker race delayed the certification of the presidential election and the incoming administration to hit the ground running on legislative goals.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who huddled on Friday morning ahead of the vote signaled they were warming to backing Johnson to avoid delaying President-elect Trump’s agenda.
Lawmakers were in a festive mood on the House floor Friday, which marked the first day of the 119th Congress. Many brought their children, posed for photos with Johnson and other leaders, hugged and huddled with each other.
While conservatives pushed for a number of concessions from Johnson—with some calling for Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) to be appointed as Rules chairman, which would effectively undercut Johnson’s ability to control what bills come to the floor—the speaker opted against striking ant “backroom deals” in contrast to his predecessor.
And leadership allies noted that critics of the speaker failed to put forth a viable alternative ahead of the vote, with the coup less energetic than what was seen during the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
The House was expected to proceed with several more rounds of voting.
The start of the 118th Congress previously got off to a chaotic start, with it taking 15 ballots before McCarthy was able to lock down the gavel.
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