Representative Mike Johnson (R., La.), the fourth House Republican to be nominated for the speakership this month, secured the necessary 217 votes to be elected to the post on Wednesday afternoon, ending weeks of uncertainty within the caucus.
In a Wednesday afternoon election against Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.), whom Democrats unanimously rallied behind, Johnson garnered 220 votes compared to his competitor’s 209 votes.
The Republican speaker nominee became the fourth contestant in the running against Jeffries hours after Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R., Minn.) dropped his bid Tuesday afternoon. House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R., La.), the two previous nominees for the presiding-officer role, also failed to secure enough support from their party.
Since Representative Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) was removed from the speakership over three weeks ago, the GOP conference repeatedly struggled to unite behind a candidate that could meet or surpass the 217-vote threshold. There are only 221 Republicans in the lower chamber, meaning each candidate couldn’t afford to lose more than four votes. Johnson only lost one.
And that one wasn’t against him, it was because Rep. Derrick Van Orden was absent.
Compared to some, Johnson is pretty low profile, and I didn’t already have a tag for him. He has a 90% Heritage Action rating, which isn’t too bad (though he did vote for the debt limit raise this year). Johnson is also a Trump supporter, which no doubt will irk National Review to no end. At 51, he’s relatively young for a speaker (though Paul Ryan was 45).
Mood: Cautious optimism.