WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Opening Day of 119th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives elected Representative Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) as House Speaker with a vote of 218. Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) received 215. Republicans Ralph Norman (SC-5) and Keith Self (TX-3) switched their votes prior to the vote being called to give Johnson the 218 votes needed to become Speaker of the House. Republican Thomas Massie (KY-4) did not vote for Johnson.
Republicans retained control of the US House of Representatives with 220 seats after the 2024 General Election and took control of the US Senate with 53 seats and won the presidency the victory of the 47thPresident of the United States, Donald J Trump.
Senator John Thune (R-South Dakota) will be the new U.S. Senate Republican leader.
Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, officially nominated Johnson to another term as Speaker, whereas, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., nominated Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to be speaker of the House.
ARTICLE UPDATES: [2:33 p.m., January 3, 2025] Prior to the vote being called, two of three Republican Representatives of the House changed their vote to Mike Johnson. Originally Mike Johnson received 216 votes.
Author: Mario Lotmore
