WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – Republican Mike Johnson appeared to be falling short in his bid to retain the top post in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, in a sign that President-elect Donald Trump’s party could struggle to stay unified in Congress this year.
With voting still ongoing, at least three Republicans voted against Johnson, likely leaving the incumbent House speaker short of the majority he would need to remain in the job.
Republicans control the chamber by a razor-thin 219-215 majority. With voting still under way, members still had a chance to change their vote or to cast a vote if they had abstained. The final outcome was still in play.
The vote could be an early indication of the party’s ability to hang together as it advances Trump’s agenda of tax cuts and border enforcement. It also could test Trump’s clout on Capitol Hill, where a handful of Republicans have already shown a willingness to defy him.
House Republicans have been racked by internal divisions over the last two years. Johnson was elevated to speaker after the party ousted his predecessor Kevin McCarthy in the middle of his term.
The House went through 15 rounds of voting over four days in 2023 before electing McCarthy speaker.
Ahead of the vote, Johnson said he would keep trying if he fell short on the first round of balloting. So far, no other Republican has publicly hinted at challenging Johnson for the role.
The mild-mannered Louisiana representative, 52, was vaulted from obscurity into one of Washington’s most powerful jobs during three weeks of turmoil in October 2023, when Republicans forced out McCarthy and struggled to agree on a successor. The conservative Christian lawyer emerged as a consensus pick, but has since struggled to keep his party unified.
He has sought to build a close 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 online on Friday. Trump returns to the White House on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Whoever secures the speakership – a role that is second in line to the presidency after the vice president – will have a big job ahead. In addition to taking on Trump’s sweeping legislative agenda, Congress will need to address the nation’s debt ceiling later this year.
With the federal government already more than $36 trillion in debt, many congressional Republicans are expected to demand significant spending cuts.
Republicans were also sworn into their new 53-47 Senate majority on Friday with Senator John Thune as their new leader, succeeding long-serving Senator Mitch McConnell, who is stepping aside from leadership but remaining in office.
Johnson angered some conservatives by repeatedly turning to Democrats to provide the votes to pass critical legislation, like bills to keep government agencies operating. He also faced a last-minute challenge late last month when Trump told House Republicans to scrap a government funding deal, demanding it also raise the nation’s debt ceiling.
A revised version of that bill – not including Trump’s debt-ceiling demand – passed the House only a few hours before the government would have shut down, and it received more support from Democrats than Republicans.
Congress is scheduled to meet on Monday to certify Trump’s presidential election victory, a function it will be unable to perform without a speaker.
Johnson has also looked to make his path for the next two years easier, by changing a rule agreed to by McCarthy that allowed any one member of the House to call for the speaker’s ouster through what is known as a “motion to vacate.” Johnson’s proposed rules would require nine members of the majority to agree before forcing the type of vote that led to McCarthy’s ouster.
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Reporting by Bo Erickson, Richard Cowan and Katharine Jackson; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Alistair Bell and Howard Goller
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