Rep. Thomas Massey of Kentucky only Republican to oppose Johnson as Speaker of 119th Congress
By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice
After a short period of consternation, Republican Mike Johnson has been elected as Speaker of the U.S. House for the 119th Congress.
Johnson ultimately received the necessary 218 votes from a Republican conference of 219 members in the first round of voting, although it briefly appeared he may need at least a second round to get the necessary support.
Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas flipped their support from other Republican members to Johnson, handing him the gavel for consecutive sessions.
Norman had initially supported Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Self had initially supported Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida. Both Donalds and Jordan supported Johnson.
“The 118th Congress was out of control when it came to spending,” Self wrote on Twitter/X prior to the vote. “New recruits are now arriving for the 119th Congress, and I invite them to join the few of us who are working on behalf of the American people to stop the big spenders.”
Johnson earned all four Republican votes from Colorado. The one vote from the Republican conference he lost was Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
“I’m a ‘Hell No’ on re-electing Mike Johnson to serve as Speaker of the House,” he wrote on Twitter/X prior to the vote. He had earlier joined former Rep. Matt Gaetz on the OAN network to share his position.
Seven members of the Republican conference, totaling 219 members, did not cast a vote on the first pass of voting in the first round. They all voted for Johnson on second pass. Rules require a Speaker to earn 218 votes, a majority, in order to be elected.
Voting was split by party lines, with the four members of the Colorado Democratic conference voting for their nominee, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
“We have the opportunity to put America first again,” said Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan in her nomination speech of Johnson. “We have an opportunity to do something on crime. We have the opportunity to close the border. We have the opportunity to take care of veterans.”
She described Johnson as an “honest broker” who “”knows our brightest days are still ahead of us.”
Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar of California nominated Jeffries as his party’s choice.
“The American people need us in this season to put down our partisan swords,” Jeffries said. “House Democrats will work hard to find bipartisan ground with Republicans … whenever possible.”