Mike Johnson overcame a razor-thin margin to keep his role as Speaker of US House of Representatives on Friday as the 119th United States Congress convened.
Johnson’s election came despite earlier fears that some Republicans were dissatisfied with his performance and were looking to elect a new Speaker.
He got almost unanimous support from Republicans, who hold a razor-thin majority over Democrats in the lower chamber of Congress.
Three hard-right Republicans at first voted against him, leaving Johnson short of the majority he would need to remain in the job, but two of them changed their minds at the last minute.
He received 218 votes out of the 434 members that voted. Democrats nominated and voted for Hakeem Jeffries, who received 215 votes.
A test of Trump’s influence The House had to elect its speaker before the new Congress could do anything.
Without a House speaker, Monday’s certification of Trump’s 2024 election victory would have been in trouble.
President-elect Donald Trump fully supported Johnson on Friday with a social media post wishing him “Good luck” and noting he was “very close to having 100% support.”
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party,” Trump added.
Johnson vowed not “make deals with anyone,” to get their support. “I don’t do anything in exchange for a vote, other than commit to make this institution work as effectively, as efficiently as possible,” he said.
He did however huddled with some of the holdouts in a chamber off the House floor before they changed their votes.
Fresh faces in Congress The speaker’s election was the key focus as the new Congress opened. But the day will also mark some firsts.
For the first time in US history, two Black women, Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland, will be serving in the Senate at the same time.
Andy Kim from New Jersey will also be the first Korean American senator.
In the House, Sarah McBride is set to be the first openly transgender person in Congress.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who recently had hip replacement surgery after a fall, returned to Washington and got a standing ovation from Democrats as she cast her vote for Jeffries.
lo/ab (AP, APF, dpa, Reuters)
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