House elects Mike Johnson as speaker after three weeks at an impasse

Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) to serve as the 56th speaker of the House after three weeks of the lower chamber sitting at a standstill and unable to complete any legislative business.

The Louisiana Republican won the gavel after surpassing the majority threshold needed to secure the gavel, beating House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) 220 to 209. Johnson was able to clinch the speakership on the first round of votes, unlike his predecessor, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who went 15 rounds before becoming speaker in January.

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Johnson was tapped as the speaker-designate after a closed-door meeting Tuesday night after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) withdrew himself from consideration when it became apparent he wouldn’t have the majority support needed to win on the floor. Emmer had won the nomination just hours earlier during another secret ballot election.

Immediately after the vote was called, Republicans conducted a closed-door roll call to see whether enough members would support Johnson’s nomination on the floor. During that vote, nearly all present members said they would back his nomination, while three Republicans, Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Mark Amodei (R-NV), and Thomas Massie (R-KY), voted present.

But all present Republicans voted for Johnson on the floor, signaling a shift toward unity within the House Republican Conference, which has been divided and shattered over the past month.

“This House Republican majority is united,” Johnson said after receiving the nomination. “I’m honored to have the support of my colleagues, and what they understand about this is [that] this is servant leadership. We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this conference and this institution of government.”

Johnson’s speakership comes three weeks after McCarthy was ousted as speaker in a motion led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), which was passed by eight Republicans and all Democrats. After that, the House Republican Conference embarked on a three-week journey to elect a new speaker.

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Their first nominee was House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who lasted only a day before dropping out as it became clear he was not going to get the 217 votes necessary to become speaker. Then Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) became the nominee. Jordan went three rounds on the floor, and after each round, he lost more support. Then, on a private ballot in a closed-door meeting, House Republicans voted to move on from Jordan as their nominee and restart the process.

Now, with Johnson elected as the new speaker, he will immediately face a number of impending challenges, such as a slew of spending bills just three weeks ahead of a scheduled government shutdown. Johnson has already unveiled an ambitious timeline to pass the House’s remaining appropriations bills ahead of the Nov. 17 deadline.