Dec 17, 2024; Washington, DC, USA; Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) during a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 17 on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY
Syndication: USA TODAY
(Washington, DC) — Republican Mike Johnson has been re-elected speaker of the House on the first vote. A minority of Republican holdouts in Congress helped Johnson become speaker once again. Republicans hold a razor-thin majority edge over Democrats.
President-elect Trump intervened in the vote to get Republican Mike Johnson re-elected speaker of the House. GOP Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina said Trump called him after he initially voted “no” to Johnson. Norman said that after talking to Trump, he realized Johnson was going to push Trump’s agenda through Congress and, in his words, not “do the same thing over and over again.” Johnson was among a minority of Republican holdouts in Congress that eventually helped Johnson become speaker once again. Republicans hold a razor-thin majority edge over Democrats.