Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been reelected speaker of the House after some drama in the first round of voting.
The Republicans’ narrow majority in the chamber meant that only two Republicans could vote against Johnson before he’d lose the speakership. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Keith Self (R-TX) initially voted for people other than Johnson for speaker.
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Massie is Johnson’s biggest critic in the House and was considered an unmovable vote against Johnson, but Johnson was able to convince Norman and Self to change their votes before the first round of voting was over.
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Johnson had been negotiating with House Republicans in the days leading up to the vote. According to The Hill, he agreed to allow X CEO Elon Musk’s “DOGE” committee on cutting government spending have some influence in House committees, audit federal agencies, and stop government agencies that have been “weaponized… against the American people.” He did not give examples of the last one.
If House Republicans failed to elect a speaker, the process could have dragged on for multiple votes like it did in 2023 when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was voted speaker after 15 rounds of votes that took four days to complete. He was later ousted and House Republicans went through several other candidates before eventually voting for Johnson.
The House will now vote on a rules package that does not contain a promised anti-trans bathroom ban but does allow a federal trans sports ban to be fast-tracked in the House.
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