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Mike Johnson was re-elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives on Friday after he cut a backroom deal with Republican rebels to secure a slim majority in the chamber.
Johnson’s win on the first ballot is a success for Donald Trump, who vigorously endorsed the Louisiana lawmaker for the top job in Congress’s lower chamber and sees him as a reliable ally to implement his second term agenda.
The vote ended with 218 in favour of Johnson, 215 for Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the House, and one vote for another candidate.
“We have a mandate, and that was shown in the election cycle. The people want an America first agenda,” Johnson said after winning the speakership.
“This is a powerful new coalition of our country,” he added.
Johnson said that the first priority of the Republican-controlled House would be to protect US borders and give the Trump administration the resources it needs for its planned crackdown on undocumented immigrants, including mass deportations.
He also vowed to extend tax cuts enacted by Trump during his first term in office, protect American industry from “one-sided trade deals”, and boost US energy “dominance”.
“We are all in this together. Our nation is counting on us to band together and solve these problems and get this done. I’ve said before that I believe God has elevated each one of you,” Johnson, a devout Christian conservative, told the lawmakers.
The US legislature opened for business at noon, with the new Republican majority in the Senate taking office and the first task in the House being the election of a new Speaker for its slimmer Republican majority.
Johnson, who replaced Kevin McCarthy after his ousting in October 2023, needed near-unanimous support to be re-elected, given that Republicans control 219 seats compared with 215 seats held by Democrats.
Thomas Massie, a Kentucky lawmaker, opposed Johnson’s re-election, backing Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican. Initially, Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, supported Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Keith Self of Texas supported Byron Donalds of Florida, but they both changed their votes to Johnson after talks with him in a room just off the House floor.
Before the vote, Trump had both publicly and privately appealed for Republicans to support Johnson. His election was crucial because the House needed to have a Speaker in place on Monday to certify Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential election, paving the way for his inauguration on January 20.
“Mike will be a Great Speaker, and our Country will be the beneficiary. The People of America have waited four years for Common Sense, Strength, and Leadership. They’ll get it now, and America will be greater than ever before!” Trump wrote on Truth Social following the vote on Friday afternoon.
Longer term, Johnson’s narrow majority could be a bad sign for Trump’s ability to pass his agenda through the House, because it shows some Republicans are willing to buck his wishes and defy party discipline.
Johnson faced some opposition to his speakership after dozens of rank-and-file conservatives were angered before the Christmas holiday when he proposed a government funding deal that required compromise with Democrats to ensure its passage.
However, Johnson has stayed very close to Trump and his inner circle in recent weeks, co-ordinating plans to quickly pass his top priorities through Congress, and relied on the president-elect’s support to overcome the resistance.
Republican discontent is concentrated within the House Freedom Caucus, which includes the most ardent hardline conservatives. Members of the caucus are expected to remain a thorn in Johnson’s side as he tries to pass Trump-backed legislation. But the Speaker has tried to meet their demands for deep spending cuts and slashes to federal agencies.
“We are going to pass legislation to roll back the totalitarian fourth branch of government, known as the administrative state. We’re going to drastically cut back the size and scope of government,” Johnson said.
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