Mike Johnson secures the Republican nomination for speaker position
Washington ( UcReview) — On Tuesday night, Rep. Mike Johnson emerged victorious over Rep. Byron Donalds, securing the GOP nomination for House speaker. He becomes the fourth speaker designate chosen by the party since Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s ousting as speaker, and interestingly, the second one selected on the same day.
After being elected on Tuesday, Majority Whip Tom Emmer withdrew from the Republican race for speaker only four hours later. Despite his efforts to gain the support of far-right members of the conference, over 20 opposed him during a roll-call vote and former President Donald Trump expressed strong opposition to Emmer shortly after he won the nomination. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said that “Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” He also accused Emmer of being “out of touch with Republican voters.”
When reporters asked Emmer on Tuesday evening whether Trump’s opposition played a role in his decision to withdraw from the speaker race, he responded by saying, “My relationship with the conference was the primary factor in my decision.”
In the final round of voting, Rep. McCarthy, who had not yet declared his candidacy, garnered 43 votes, a significant number compared to the 29 votes won by official finalist Rep. Byron Donalds. This could be seen as a potential warning sign for Johnson.
Following the conclusion of the Republican conference meeting, Johnson briefly addressed the reporters and confirmed his plan to head to the House floor for a noon vote on Wednesday. Although he did not reveal the exact number of votes in the conference poll, which aimed to assess support for his nomination, he expressed confidence in securing the 217 GOP votes necessary to clinch the speaker’s gavel in the House floor.
During the evening of Tuesday, Ohio Representative Max Miller expressed his belief that there is an increasing level of support for reinstating McCarthy to the speakership. According to Miller, “I actually think that we may be on a merry-go-round… Who knows, we might end up back at Speaker McCarthy. He’s still got the most votes of anybody in that room.”
In 2016, Johnson was elected to Congress for the first time. However, he voted against the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.
For the past three weeks, the House has been lacking an elected speaker, resulting in the inability to address crucial issues such as providing aid for Israel or Ukraine, along with other domestic and foreign crises. This has led to a delay in the consideration and passage of legislation.
Mike Johnson becomes the next GOP speaker-designee
In the race for GOP speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson emerged victorious on the final ballot, surpassing Rep. Byron Donalds, as confirmed by a tweet from Rep. Elise Stefanik. Johnson garnered 128 votes, while Donalds received 29. It’s worth noting that McCarthy, who was not in the running, still received 43 votes. There was also one vote of “present.”
In 2016, Johnson, hailing from Louisiana and a former radio host, secured his first election to Congress. Notably, he voted against the certification of the results of the 2020 US presidential election.
Williams, Green out of speaker race after second ballot as Republicans move to third round of voting
Texas Representative Roger Williams and Tennessee Representative Mark Green have been eliminated from the race for the Speaker nomination following the second round of votes by Republicans.
Stefanik reports that the GOP conference is now in a head-to-head competition between Donalds and Johnson, as they move on to a third ballot in the race.
According to Rep. Randy Weber of Texas, the vote count showed Johnson leading with the highest number of votes, totaling 97. Donalds trailed with 31 votes, followed by Green with 21 votes and Williams with 20 votes. Additionally, there were 34 “other” votes for Republicans who were not on the ballot, while there were three “present” votes.
According to Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, McCarthy received 33 of the “other” votes.
Green withdrew his candidacy, while Williams was eliminated from the race as the lowest vote-earner.
Johnson won the first round, says Rep. Dan Meuser
Reporters were informed by Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania about the vote count in the initial round of voting in the GOP conference.
- Mike Johnson 85
- Byron Donalds 32
- Mark Green 23
- Roger Williams 21
- Chuck Fleischmann 10
After the votes were counted, it was determined that Fleischman had the lowest number of votes and was subsequently dropped from the ballot. Meuser revealed that there were 30 votes cast for other candidates as well.
According to Rep. John Duarte from California, Johnson received a total of 84 votes, while the remaining 31 votes were cast for other candidates, as he informed the reporters.
Republicans move to second round of voting; Fleischmann eliminated
Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has been eliminated in the first round of voting, as confirmed by Rep. Elise Stefanik.
The speaker race still has a few contenders, including Reps. Byron Donalds, Mark Green, Mike Johnson, and Roger Williams. According to a tweet from Stefanik, the Republicans are now proceeding to the second ballot.
Republicans begin vote for fourth speaker nominee
The House Republicans have commenced their voting process for the first ballot of their speaker nominee. This comes after they convened to elect a fourth candidate just a few hours after Emmer, who had won the conference’s nomination earlier on Tuesday, withdrew his candidacy due to increasing opposition.
On social media, Rep. Elise Stefanik, who chairs the Republican conference, announced that there are five candidates on the ballot, namely: Donalds, Fleischmann, Green, Johnson, and Williams.
House will not vote on speaker tonight
The Democratic Whip’s office has confirmed that the vote for the next House speaker will not take place on Tuesday night.
According to a notice from House Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, House Republicans are planning to adjourn and votes are no longer expected in the House today. Members are advised to take note of this development.
Tonight, House Republicans will cast their votes within their conference to elect a new nominee for the position of Speaker.
Hern drops out of contention for speaker nomination
During a press briefing, Rep. Kevin Hern, who serves as the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, announced that he has chosen to withdraw his candidacy for speaker and is now endorsing Rep. Mike Johnson.
According to the Oklahoma Republican, he believes that the person in question would excel as a speaker. In his opinion, this individual is a trustworthy and upstanding human being who would effectively guide the conference towards achieving the necessary objectives for the Republican Party. The congressman also emphasized the importance of reopening Congress and accomplishing the necessary tasks at hand.
Hern stated that it was time for them to resume work and confidently expressed that Mike Johnson was capable of doing so.
The new GOP speaker candidates
Moments before the commencement of the candidate forum, Elise Stefanik, the GOP Conference Chair, shared on Twitter the complete list of candidates vying for the position. The following representatives are running for the position: Byron Donalds from Florida, Chuck Fleischmann from Tennessee, Mark Green from Tennessee, Kevin Hern from Oklahoma, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, and Roger Williams from Texas.
According to Rep. Ralph Norman, Republicans plan to speed up the candidate forum by having each candidate deliver a one-minute speech prior to the commencement of voting.
Candidates do not require nominating speeches from members.
Afterwards, there is an expectation for votes to be cast.
Republicans to hold another candidate forum at 6 p.m.
Republican members announced that they are organizing another candidate forum at 6 p.m. following Emmer’s withdrawal from the race. The House Republicans are planning to hold this forum, as confirmed by sources.
Members are left with limited time to prepare as candidates are required to declare their bids by 5:30 p.m.
Emmer drops out of the speaker’s race, hours after becoming nominee
Several House Republicans have stated that Rep. Tom Emmer has withdrawn from the speaker race, despite being elected as the GOP nominee just hours earlier.
As House Republicans held a conference meeting at 4 p.m., Emmer exited the building without answering any questions from the reporters regarding his candidacy.
In less than three weeks, House Republicans have lost their third speaker-designee.
When reporters asked Emmer on Tuesday evening if Trump’s opposition played a role in his decision to withdraw from the speaker race, Emmer clarified that his decision was solely based on his relationship with the conference.
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Emmer leaves Republican conference meeting, won’t say if he’s still in the race
The House Republicans are currently in the midst of their 4 p.m. conference meeting. Suddenly, Emmer excused himself and walked out of the building. The reason behind his sudden departure remains unclear at this time.
Reporters asked Emmer if he is still in the race, but he did not respond.
In an attempt to secure support, Emmer and his supporters have been working hard to convince a few dozen Republican holdouts.
Conservative opposition to Emmer emerges
Upon Emmer’s election as the Republican Party’s nominee for speaker, a number of conservative lawmakers made their intentions known to vote against him during the House’s official floor vote.
According to Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, Emmer is the most liberal member of the Republican leadership. He also pointed out that Jordan’s nomination was being blocked by the left flank of the conference.
“He said he has supported every Republican nominee for Speaker of the House until now, but he will not be voting for Tom Emmer on the House floor.”
In November, Banks lost to Emmer in the conference’s race for majority whip. He firmly accused those who refused to support Jordan of holding the broader House GOP hostage and compelling Republicans to betray their voters and abandon their promises to the American people. Banks emphasized that he will not be a part of such actions.
On social media, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida made it clear that she will not be endorsing Emmer during a floor vote.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, she shared that she cast her vote for Rep Donalds as Speaker this morning. She also mentioned casting her vote for Rep Johnson and made it clear that Rep Emmer lacks the necessary votes to become Speaker, thus making her unable to support him on the floor. In her tweet, she expressed the need to find a Speaker and urged Rep. Mark Green to consider running for the position.
During a recent press briefing, Texas Representative Troy Nehls hinted that some of Emmer’s previous remarks are currently causing him trouble, although he didn’t disclose which statements in particular. However, Nehls expressed skepticism regarding Emmer’s capability to secure the required 217 votes and reiterated his commitment to put forward Trump’s name for the position of speaker at the House.
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During a press conference, Nehls shared that he informed Tom Emmer that he wouldn’t be the person to cause his downfall. Nehls expressed that if Emmer could secure 216 votes, he would likely have Nehls’ support at 217. However, Nehls firmly believes that when it comes down to 10, 12, or 15 names, Donald Trump is the solution.
To secure the speakership, Emmer can only tolerate up to four defections during the vote on the House floor.
Johnson, who came in second, helping Emmer flip holdouts: “We are going to finish this tonight”
According to Rep. Mike Johnson, who secured the second position in the final ballot, he is currently assisting Emmer in persuading the remaining holdouts to change their position.
According to him, discussions will be ongoing for House Republicans at a conference meeting scheduled for 4 p.m.
Johnson declared that they will complete the task tonight and are determined to meet for however long it takes.
Emmer confirmed that they plan to take this issue to the House floor.
Trump blasts Emmer as a “RINO” and a “globalist”
On Tuesday, Trump expressed his disapproval of Emmer as the potential speaker. He took to Truth Social and referred to Emmer as a “RINO” and a “globalist” who opposed him throughout.
After January 6, 2021, Emmer went ahead to vote in favor of certifying the 2020 election results. However, he also joined an amicus brief that requested the Supreme Court to overturn the outcome of the presidential election.
In a recent statement, former President Trump made it clear that he has several friends who are vying for the position of the Speaker of the House, and among them are some truly exceptional Warriors. However, he does not hold RINO Tom Emmer in the same regard. According to Trump, Emmer is someone he doesn’t know well and doesn’t consider to be one of the greats. Trump further stated that Emmer never understood the impact of a Trump endorsement or the true essence of MAGA – MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
“He was against me every step of the way and spent more time defending Ilhan Omar than defending me. He is completely disconnected from the Republican voters,” Trump expressed. “Although he claims to be Pro-Trump now, can we really trust him? Has he changed his stance just to win? We cannot afford to take that risk in the Republican Party because the America First Voters do not stand for that. It would be a disastrous mistake to vote for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer!”
Just yesterday, Trump decided not to endorse anyone in this particular round and shared that he was “trying to stay out of it.” During the previous round, Trump had endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan, but unfortunately, Jordan didn’t receive enough support to win the gavel.
No secret deals for Emmer, colleague says
According to Republican Representative Dusty Johnson, Emmer has informed his GOP colleagues that he won’t engage in any covert agreements to secure the position of a speaker.
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had a different approach compared to the current one. He preferred to make deals with the most conservative members of the conference in order to secure his position as the speaker in January. However, the current approach is different from his.
During a press briefing, Johnson shared that Tom Emmer gained praise for his straightforward approach. He emphasized that they will not engage in shell diplomacy or have separate conversations in small rooms. Johnson also added that Emmer will deliver the same message to everyone involved, without any inconsistencies or discrepancies.
According to Johnson, Emmer is demonstrating an exceptional ability to handle tough situations by standing his ground and responding to questions from a room full of 200 highly opinionated members. Johnson believes that Emmer is impressing and converting many people with his masterful performance.
