Mike Johnson elected House speaker with unanimous GOP support, ending weeks of chaos

Table Of Content

• Trump breaks silence on McCarthy and House speaker drama
• House Speaker VoteMcCarthy Wins Speakership on 15th Vote
• House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel
• Five Republicans who stand firmly against McCarthy, perhaps no matter what
• Stefanik to deliver nominating speech for Johnson
• The Republican leader claws his way to the post in a dramatic late-night vote.
• Rep. Mike Johnson has been elected speaker. Here's what to know

The House is now in its third week without a leader as Republicans' path forward remained unclear. GOP Rep. Ken Buck, who opposed Jordan in both ballots, predicted that Jordan "bleeds three or four votes" if there are more rounds of voting ahead. "More and more members are going to be able to say, 'I voted for him the first two times, now we have to move on,'" Buck told CBS News' Major Garrett Wednesday on "The Takeout" podcast. The House of Representatives leadership election is going to a second ballot for the first time since 1923 after no candidate secured the 218 votes necessary to be elected House speaker. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters Friday that he's confident he'll have the votes to get elected House speaker when the chamber reconvenes at 10 p.m. After Scalise dropped out of the race and Jordan went on to become the nominee last week, Scalise immediately committed to voting for Jordan and encouraged his supporters to do the same.

Trump breaks silence on McCarthy and House speaker drama

Ahead of the evening session, McCarthy said does not want another vote for speaker tonight. GOP House leader Kevin McCarthy has been defeated in the last six rounds of votes. Rep. Chip Roy told Republican leaders he thinks he can get 10 holdouts to come along if these ongoing negotiations pan out, according to GOP sources familiar with the internal discussions, and that there are additional detractors who may be willing to vote present. The House cannot continue with any other business until a speaker is elected — including swearing in of new members. Speaker Mike Johnson, facing intense opposition from right-wing members, received crucial help from Democrats to move forward with the votes.

House Speaker VoteMcCarthy Wins Speakership on 15th Vote

The only change of late is that some of these 20 Republican holdouts are redirecting their votes. Two of them voted for Rep.-elect Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, while another, Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz of Florida, voted for former President Donald Trump. In the latest attempt, anti-McCarthy Republicans nominated both Rep.-elect Byron Donalds of Florida and Rep.-elect Kevin Hern of Oklahoma. Each had collected a handful of votes in early the vote – enough to deny McCarthy a 218 majority.

House to take up resolution declaring support for Israel

The House of Representatives moved into an eighth round of votes to elect a speaker after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., failed to gain a majority of votes in the first seven rounds. In the ninth attempt this week to elect a House speaker, at least five Republicans voted for lawmakers other than Kevin McCarthy, which means no majority can be reached. Rep.-elect Byron Donalds of Florida won 13 votes and Rep.-elect Kevin Hern of Oklahoma won 7 votes.

Five Republicans who stand firmly against McCarthy, perhaps no matter what

Gaetz is one of McCarthy's most prominent critics for his race to become speaker. He and 18 other Republicans blocked McCarthy from securing the 218 votes required to win the role in three role calls Tuesday. Gaetz remained unswayed by Trump's endorsement despite the pair being longtime allies. Republican senators are calling on their fellow party members in the House to move forward with selecting a new House Speaker following Tuesday's three inconclusive votes. This comes as it does not appear House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has made significant progress in his effort to secure the votes needed to win the speaker's gavel.

Stefanik to deliver nominating speech for Johnson

House GOP lawmakers for the fifth time appeared likely to come up short of the 218 votes they need to elect a new House speaker. Rep.-elect Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., voted "present" on Wednesday during the fourth attempt to agree on a House speaker, saying that Republicans need to deliberate further and "stop wasting everyone's time." House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy came up short in his fifth attempt to win the 218 votes needed to become the next House speaker, raising questions about whether any of the GOP holdouts will ever be convinced to support him. Donalds received 20 votes in the fourth round of voting on Wednesday, ensuring that Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy did not garner enough votes for his bid. Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy's political machine spent millions supporting GOP candidates who won their elections and arrived on Capitol Hill only to oppose his bid for speaker. McCarthy has failed to secure the 218 votes required to become speaker in six separate roll calls since Tuesday.

GOP drops Jim Jordan as House speaker nominee after he loses 3rd vote

"My view has been let's continue to organize on our side as we've done strength, unity, resilience," Jeffries told Fox News Digital's Brianna Herlihy. Upon his arrival to the meeting McCarthy was asked if he expects the vote tally to be the same today. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy just entered a closed meeting with what appears to be supporters of his in the Capitol.

The Republican leader claws his way to the post in a dramatic late-night vote.

Rep-elect Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is still trying to earn enough votes to be speaker of the House. That's a slight increase from the two votes that Hern received when Boebert originally nominated him in the eight round of voting. The 11th vote for House speaker late Thursday was on track to yield another non-decision, as more than five Republicans voted for someone other than Kevin McCarthy. In light of these developments, lawmakers say McCarthy could be in a position to become the next speaker over the next few days, barring additional requests for changes along the way. "I’m never getting sworn in am I?" Rep-elect Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, tweeted Thursday afternoon, as members were anticipating another round of votes. A new deal could deliver some new votes to McCarthy that have so far been voting against him.

Rep. Mike Johnson has been elected speaker. Here's what to know

They are the last remaining six Republican holdouts who in the last round voted against Mr. McCarthy. Still, a large contingent of the crowd hung on, with a mixed but visible reaction to Representative Lauren Boebert, who had been a hard holdout, voting “present.” Some booed, and one yelled “sellout! ” Later on, after some key votes for Mr. McCarthy, applause and cheers filled the bar.

A first-term representative from Florida, Donalds has remained relatively out of the spotlight for most of his political tenure. He's perhaps best known as a member of the "Freedom Force," a group of 2020 freshman House Republicans who pledged to fight socialism. "Our clerk has stepped up and reflects our House's best tradition of preparation and dedication to this institution, and we're grateful," Hill said at the beginning of his nomination speech on Thursday. She has drawn praise from both sides of the aisle this week for making sure the voting process remains respectful and orderly — despite the fact that the House hasn't even been able to pass rules for its newest session.

A senior member of the House GOP leadership brass told Fox News Friday the thought is that the House will conduct at least one vote today at noon for speaker and then see where they stand. His absence could leave McCarthy with fewer votes as he attempts to rally a majority of votes for speaker. Rep.-elect Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, confirmed to Fox News he will not be in Washington, D.C., for speaker votes Friday. McCarthy flipped 14 votes to his side for the first time in the first Friday vote. Rep.-elect Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., switched her vote from present to McCarthy. Now in its fourth day, the process has lengthened out to 12 failed votes without a clear end in sight.

He received two votes in the eighth round despite not being officially nominated. The nomination of Hern, R-Okla., in the ninth round of votes is in addition to other GOP-alternative nominee Rep.-elect Byron Donalds. "The colleagues that I brought with me to offer those 218 votes on the first ballot aren't there anymore. It is not happening. And as it's been said, we need to get to a point where we start evaluating what life after Kevin McCarthy looks like," she said on the floor. After nine votes, McCarthy is still short of the 218 votes he needs to become House speaker. Kevin McCarthy failed to reach 218 votes in the ninth vote series in the House on Thursday, and dropped to 200 votes total because a lawmaker had to attend a medical appointment.

The House GOP caucus is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to strategize as McCarthy continues to push forward for now. The House GOP caucus will meet early Wednesday morning to strategize before returning to Capitol Hill at noon to resume voting. “We’ll continue to seek a candidate who’ll put an end to this horrible practice,” Perry wrote. Rep. Scott Perry and other Republicans appear ready to keep resisting Kevin McCarthy's speakership bid on Wednesday. "I hope whoever House Republicans elect speaker will be fully committed to conservative principles and restoring function and fiscal sanity to the federal government," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital.

Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers - NPR

Mike Johnson and the troubled history of recent Republican speakers.

Posted: Sat, 27 Apr 2024 09:00:42 GMT [source]

A 21st GOP lawmaker, Rep.-elect Victoria Spartz of Indiana voted for McCarthy earlier this week but more recently has been voting "present" to reflect her assessment that Republicans need to confer further before voting. McCarthy won 201 votes in three votes Wednesday and remained there in the first vote held on Thursday. Twenty Republicans again voted for another GOP lawmaker to deny him the 218 votes he needs – 19 of those went to Rep.-elect Byron Donalds of Florida, and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida voted for former President Donald Trump.