Republican Mike Johnson has retained House speakership after a dramatic vote where three members initially voted against him but then changed their votes. He vowed to finish the border wall, begin mass deportations, extend the Trump tax cuts, “restore America’s energy dominance,” “make life affordable again,” and “roll back the totalitarian fourth branch of government known as the administrative state” by “drastically cutting back the scope and size of government.”
“Our people do not deserve to be ruled by millions of bureaucrats they never voted for, never met, and can’t hold accountable,” he said. “The American people have called on us to reject business as usual and throw out the status quo. We must and we will heed their call. It is the great honor of my life,” Johnson added after being voted in as speaker. “This is a momentous time in the history of our history.”
“In a democracy, there is a time to campaign and a time to govern,” he said. “The election is over. This is a new Congress. The American people need us as their elected representatives in this season to put down our partisan swords and pick up bipartisan plowshares. Working together, we have the potential to be one of the most consequential Congresses in the history of this great nation.”
Johnson (R-LA) secured the position of Speaker of the House on Friday, fulfilling a bold prediction by Republican firebrand Matt Gaetz. The newly minted news host’s accurate call, made just hours before the vote, bolstered his credibility in his new role. Gaetz, who recently transitioned from lawmaker to political commentator, had confidently tweeted his prediction early Friday morning.
“Mike Johnson will be elected Speaker today. On the first vote. People might like or dislike that. I’m just reporting the news,” Gaetz, who resigned ahead of Congress being gaveled back into session, wrote. And while Johnson was reelected, it was actually on the second ballot after President-elect Donald Trump reportedly intervened to discuss the situation with some GOP holdouts.
Mike Johnson will be elected Speaker today.
On the first vote.
People might like or dislike that. I’m just reporting the news.
— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) January 3, 2025
The vote for Speaker of the House was anything but certain. Rep. Mike Johnson initially fell just two votes shy of the 218 needed to secure the gavel, as Republican holdouts Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Keith Self (R-TX), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) withheld their support. Meanwhile, Democrats remained united, casting all their votes for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). “It comes despite saber-rattling by some conservatives who threatened to withhold support from Johnson in protest of his handling of government funding and several other issues in the 118th Congress,” Fox noted on Friday.