House Republicans Select Another Speaker Nominee After Emmer Dropout
Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was nominated to become speaker of the House on Tuesday night, with no apparent opposition.
On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump gave House Republicans a nudge to back Johnson, which would end the three weeks in which the House has been without a speaker.
Tuesday began with Republican Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota winning the nomination. Emmer dropped out after it was clear he lacked enough GOP support to win a House floor vote.
“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system,” Johnson said after the vote, according to a video clip posted to X.
Indicating the members behind him, he added, “This House Republican majority is united.”
“This is servant leadership,” Johnson said.
GOP speaker nominee @RepMikeJohnson: “Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system. This conference that you see, this House Republican majority, is united.” pic.twitter.com/YBuG2esWd4
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 25, 2023
“We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, this institution of government. America is the last best hope of man on the earth,” Johnson said, adding, “We’re going to restore your trust in what we do here.”
“This group here is ready to govern, and we are going to govern well,” he said.
“The world is on fire. We stand with our ally Israel,” Johnson said, drawing applause and cheers from the Republican House members gathered behind him. “We have a very busy agenda. We have appropriations bills to get through the process. But you are going to see this group working like a well-oiled machine. We owe that to the American people.”
Reflecting on the tumult of the day, Johnson said as he finished his comments, “We’re all pretty weary.”
Trump, who the day before had voiced his objections to Emmer, weighed in on the latest bit of drama Wednesday morning in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party,” he wrote.
“Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves. Congratulations to Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (Tennessee), Mark Green (Tennessee), & Roger Williams (Texas), & the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana).
“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory. In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN!” Trump wrote.
“My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST! LOVE, DJT.”
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who helped bring down former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, also appeared to be on board, according to The Hill.
“We adore him, and I think he’s gonna do a great job for the country and for the right reasons. Mike Johnson has not bought and paid for. Mike Johnson does what is right,” Gaetz said.
Johnson is currently the House majority’s vice chairman and is a past chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee.
Johnson won the nomination with 128 votes to 29 for Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida in a vote in which 43 legislators voted for McCarthy, The Hill was told by a source it did not name.
In a roll call vote with a dozen members absent, no one opposed Johnson, although Republican Reps. French Hill of Arkansas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Mark Amodei of Nevada voted “present.”
The math leaves Johnson short of the 217 votes needed to win a floor vote, but Johnson said one would take place Wednesday morning.
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