Mike Johnson Might Fail House Speaker Vote as Republicans Refuse to Back Him

Republican House Speaker nominee Mike Johnson faces an uphill battle as GOP divisions threaten to derail his bid for the Speakership. While some of his most vocal critics have changed their tune in recent days and lined up to support him, he is still facing a very narrow vote to keep his role as Speaker, with just one defection having the potential to derail his reelection, assuming all Democrats back House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for the role. Newsweek has contacted Speaker Johnson’s office for comment via phone. Why It Matters The House cannot conduct any official business until it elects a new speaker. If Johnson fails on Friday to secure the 218 votes required for a simple majority to remain speaker, the House risks being in limbo until the issue is resolved. This includes the potential delay of the certification on January 6 of President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Johnson is facing an uphill battle… Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. Johnson is facing an uphill battle to be reelected as Speaker. Jose Luis Magana/AP What To Know The GOP is set to hold a slim 219-215 majority when the House reconvenes on January 3, with former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz’s seat expected to be vacant. Representatives Mike Waltz of Florida and Elise Stefanik of New York are in line for national security adviser and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations respectively. Stefanik’s role requires Senate confirmation, while Waltz’s does not. If Stefanik is confirmed by the Senate, this will mean the Republicans will have just 217 seats in the House when Trump begins his term, in which case, a single GOP defection would mean no vote could pass without Democratic support until new Republicans are elected to replace Stefanik and Waltz in special elections, which could take months. In the meantime, if two GOP House members defect, and decide not to vote for Johnson, he could miss out the 218 vote threshold needed to be reelected. However, members can vote “present” instead of naming a candidate, which would lower the threshold needed for victory by reducing the total number of votes cast for candidates. Kentucky GOP Representative Thomas Massie, a longtime critic of Johnson, has already said he will not support the speaker’s reelection bid, and is considering voting for another candidate. Several other House Republicans have said they were undecided. They include Texas representative Chip Roy, Arizona representative Andy Biggs, Pennsylvania representative Scott Perry, Indiana representative Victoria Spartz and House Freedom caucus chair Andy Harris from Maryland. But Johnson’s chances were buoyed in recent days by endorsements from key MAGA supporters, including Donald Trump and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who hold significant influence in the party. Trump has also pledged to call fellow Republicans to drum up support for Johnson. Johnson’s team is now reportedly scrambling to secure Republican support. Much of his support came tumbling down in the last year after backlash over some of his compromises, including aiding Ukraine against conservative wishes and yielding to Elon Musk on short-term spending. Some GOP members, including Spartz, are now demanding assurances on spending cuts to align with Trump’s agenda. The last speaker election in January 2023 required 15 rounds of voting before former speaker Kevin McCarthy was confirmed. What People Are Saying When asked if he will be supporting Johnson, Congressman Thomas Massie said on One America News: “Oh, no, you can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them, you can start cutting off my fingers, I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow. And you can take that to the bank.” Congressman Michael Cloud said on X: “There are concerns that a delay in electing a Speaker could lead to a brief delay in enacting President Trump’s agenda. This is a legitimate concern that I share. The other option on the table is maintaining the status quo, which will undoubtedly fail Trump’s agenda. I’m working to help find a third option which is structural changes that are needed in how the House operates in order to swiftly enact Trump’s agenda, not interfere or delay it. “We must ensure the House is structured to enact the America-first agenda in a way that has permanence.” Indiana representative Victoria Spartz said on Fox News earlier this week: “If Speaker Johnson wants to be speaker, then he needs to lay out a plan and commit to that plan, not like what he did last year. I can give him a chance, but I would like to hear from him how he’s going to be delivering this agenda.” Rep. Chip Roy said Tuesday on Fox Business: “I remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues, because we saw so many of the failures last year that we are concerned about that might limit or inhibit our ability to advance the president’s agenda.” Donald Trump said on Truth Social: “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!” Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “You’ve seen me fight against him at times. But you want to know something else? Here’s what I recognize. For the past four years, all of you, and myself included, have put blood, sweat, and tears into electing President Trump. “Let’s put aside our pride. Let’s put aside our egos. And let’s put aside the infighting. It’s time to come together as Republicans, and it’s time to do whatever it takes to make sure that we deliver the mandate that the American people told us to do. That’s why I’m excited tomorrow. I cannot wait to get started. I’ll be voting for Mike Johnson. I will be looking ahead in complete hopefulness and working as hard as possible.” Mike Johnson said on Fox Business Thursday afternoon: “I think we get it done on the first round. I’m certainly hopeful for that, because, as we noted, we got to stick together. We’ll be operating with the smallest margin in U.S. history for much of the first 100 days of the Congress, and perhaps longer into the year. “Look, I’m a proven fighter, I’m a MAGA conservative, but I’m also someone who can get everyone in that broad array that we have in the House GOP to work together, and that’s what’s necessary in the days ahead,” he added. What Happens Next The House speaker election, in which Johnson will seek to retain his role, will take place on January 3, the opening day of the 119th Congress.