By Bo Erickson, Richard Cowan and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Mike Johnson gave the impression to be falling brief in his bid to retain the highest publish within the U.S. Home of Representatives on Friday, in an indication that President-elect Donald Trump’s get together might battle to remain unified in Congress this yr.
With voting nonetheless ongoing, at the least three Republicans voted towards Johnson, possible leaving the incumbent Home speaker wanting the bulk he would want to stay within the job.
Republicans management the chamber by a razor-thin 219-215 majority. With voting nonetheless beneath manner, members nonetheless had an opportunity to vary their vote or to forged a vote if that they had abstained. The ultimate end result was nonetheless in play.
The vote might be an early indication of the get together’s capability to hold collectively because it advances Trump’s agenda of tax cuts and border enforcement. It additionally might take a look at Trump’s clout on Capitol Hill, the place a handful of Republicans have already proven a willingness to defy him.
Home Republicans have been racked by inside divisions during the last two years. Johnson was elevated to speaker after the get together ousted his predecessor Kevin McCarthy in the midst of his time period.
The Home went by way of 15 rounds of voting over 4 days in 2023 earlier than electing McCarthy speaker.
Forward of the vote, Johnson stated he would hold making an attempt if he fell brief on the primary spherical of balloting. To date, no different Republican has publicly hinted at difficult Johnson for the position.
The mild-mannered Louisiana consultant, 52, was vaulted from obscurity into considered one of Washington’s strongest jobs throughout three weeks of turmoil in October 2023, when Republicans compelled out McCarthy and struggled to agree on a successor. The conservative Christian lawyer emerged as a consensus decide, however has since struggled to maintain his get together unified.
He has sought to construct an in depth relationship with Trump, who endorsed him on Monday following weeks of uncertainty.
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party,” Trump posted on-line on Friday. Trump returns to the White Home on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Whoever secures the speakership – a task that’s second in line to the presidency after the vp – may have an enormous job forward. Along with taking up Trump’s sweeping legislative agenda, Congress might want to handle the nation’s debt ceiling later this yr.
With the federal authorities already greater than $36 trillion in debt, many congressional Republicans are anticipated to demand important spending cuts.
Republicans have been additionally sworn into their new 53-47 Senate majority on Friday with Senator John Thune as their new chief, succeeding long-serving Senator Mitch McConnell, who’s stepping except for management however remaining in workplace.
Johnson angered some conservatives by repeatedly turning to Democrats to offer the votes to cross vital laws, like payments to maintain authorities companies working. He additionally confronted a last-minute problem late final month when Trump instructed Home Republicans to scrap a authorities funding deal, demanding it additionally increase the nation’s debt ceiling.
A revised model of that invoice – not together with Trump’s debt-ceiling demand – handed the Home just a few hours earlier than the federal government would have shut down, and it acquired extra assist from Democrats than Republicans.
Congress is scheduled to fulfill on Monday to certify Trump’s presidential election victory, a perform it is going to be unable to carry out with no speaker.
Johnson has additionally appeared to make his path for the following two years simpler, by altering a rule agreed to by McCarthy that allowed anyone member of the Home to name for the speaker’s ouster by way of what is named a “motion to vacate.” Johnson’s proposed guidelines would require 9 members of the bulk to agree earlier than forcing the kind of vote that led to McCarthy’s ouster.
