As Republicans prepare for full Washington control…
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) has not yet secured reelection to his leadership post, leaving House Republicans temporarily rudderless as the GOP prepares to take full control of Washington.
Unable to overcome challenges within his caucus, Johnson failed to emerge from the floor vote with his leadership intact. Concerns about potential defections escalated earlier in the week when Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) publicly opposed Johnson’s continued speakership. With no Democratic support, Johnson could not afford to lose even one more Republican vote.
🚨New: Thomas Massie says he will not vote for Mike Johnson Speaker tomorrow: “No. 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.”
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) January 3, 2025
Johnson can only afford to lose one vote for Speaker. pic.twitter.com/z023un7Q5x
However, President-elect Donald Trump intervened to shore up support, engaging directly with skeptical lawmakers, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas). Trump took to Truth Social on Friday morning, declaring Johnson was approaching “100% support” and framing the vote as a crucial moment for the ascendant GOP.
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party and yet another acknowledgment of our 129-year most consequential Presidential Election!” Trump wrote. His active involvement underscored his determination to minimize Republican infighting as he prepares to enter office in just over two weeks.
Trump’s concerns were rooted in his first-term struggles, where intra-party divisions often slowed his ambitious legislative agenda. In a statement of support for Johnson, Trump described the Louisiana Republican as “a good, hard-working, religious man” and emphasized the urgency of delivering relief to Americans from what he called the “destructive policies of the last Administration.”
In a separate post on X, Trump urged Republicans to present a unified front, writing, “We have a Country to run, and many big problems to solve, mostly created by Democrats. REPUBLICANS, BE SMART AND TOUGH!”
Despite this, members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus remained disenchanted with Johnson. When asked for his vote, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) sat still, refusing to comment.
Rep. Biggs sits there as his name is called pic.twitter.com/zHP1ZHsXrX
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 3, 2025
Other ideologically-aligned lawmakers, including Michael Cloud (Texas), Andrew Clyde (Georgia), Andy Harris (Md.) and Paul Gosar (Ariz.) followed suit with their own stoney-faced glares. Some of this group, including Chip Roy, returned to cast their votes for Johnson when the clerk of the House asked for them.
However, three GOP members defected, causing Johnson’s efforts to reclaim the gavel to fail this time and making the process more challenging than he had hoped.
As expected, Rep. Massie cast his vote for someone else—House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).
Then, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) cast his vote for Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as speaker, ensuring that Johnson would fail to secure enough votes in the first round. Norman appeared visibly disdainful as his colleagues murmured disapprovingly around him.
BREAKING: Mike Johnson just lost the first round of the House Speaker race after Congressman Ralph Norman voted for Jim Jordan to be Speaker of the House. pic.twitter.com/ryFeyAf4Gu
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 3, 2025
Lastly, Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) voted for Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) for speaker.
Prior to the vote, Politico’s Olivia Beavers reported that a group of conservatives and potential opposition members against Speaker Johnson circulated a document outlining a “scorecard” of perceived failures by the 118th Congress.
SCOOP: A group of conservatives and potential opposition votes against Speaker Mike Johnson are circulating a document laying out a "scorecard" that lists multiple failures of the 118th Congress.
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) January 3, 2025
While the author remains unnamed, it hits the talking points being shared by… pic.twitter.com/nfoaAVTJs5
The vote took place as the 119th Congress convened for its first session. With the GOP poised to hold the presidency, Senate and House, expectations are high for the party to swiftly implement its legislative priorities.
As Washington braces for this new era of Republican governance, the speaker of the House’s ability to navigate internal dynamics and work with Senate Republicans and the incoming Trump administration will be pivotal. The speaker will face an immediate challenge of uniting his conference and steering it toward fulfilling America First campaign promises in the days, weeks and months ahead.
For now, it’s unclear if the House will go to a second vote or recess shortly for some deal making.
Article Published With The Permission of American Liberty News. This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
DC Swamp for the Swamp??
House Speaker Voting reform:
Vote by tablet
Remote voting OK
Tally votes
Total vote time: 20 min.
No vote then revote etc
why Congress cant ACT on other issues
Fossilized bureaucracy
Johnson has already proven he’s incapable of doing the job!
Elect a loser. Sure. Makes me feel confident.
But why would you want anybody from the ‘freedom caucus’? I was very disappointed about the names of those against Johnson and President Trump. It is obvious who wants a great America and who wants to pursue their own agenda. Now we have the names, we won’t forget. Also, why on earth would anyone ever vote for Massey? Disgusting person.