WASHINGTON (AP) — Mike Johnson is fighting for his political life again.
The Louisiana Republican’s hand in the House speaker’s gavel and his position as second-in-command to the president’s office will be tested Friday when the new Congress convenes and House Republicans consider whether to reelect him. Become.
The challenge, as always, is that Mr. Johnson will need nearly every Republican vote to win.
Mr. Johnson has a unique advantage. That’s because President-elect Donald Trump endorsed Johnson as a speaker in a social media post earlier in the week. But it’s unclear whether Trump’s blessing will be enough to win over far-right Republicans, who have at times grown dissatisfied with Johnson’s leadership and tend to demand concessions when their votes become essential.
Johnson, 52, became speaker almost by accident in October 2023 after the party struggled to find a replacement for Kevin McCarthy following the California Republican’s unprecedented resignation. Several candidates were tried before Republicans settled on Johnson, who was popular across the conference.
But Johnson’s handling of major funding disputes, including the passage of aid to Ukraine last spring and more recently the short-term spending bill, has turned at least some allies into detractors.
Republicans hold a narrow 220-215 majority in the House, so just two Republicans voting for another candidate would deny Johnson a majority for speaker and require a new vote.
Here’s what you need to know about how the House of Representatives elects its Speaker.
There is no house without speakers
Choosing a speaker is the first order of business for the House of Commons after the new session begins at noon. This is a vote that members take even before they are sworn into office.
The House of Representatives cannot be organized until the Speaker assumes office, as the Speaker effectively functions as the Speaker of the House and the administrative head of the institution. The House may elect a new speaker at any time if the person holding the role dies, resigns, or is removed from office. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the chair has only been vacant 13 times in U.S. history. He was not removed from office until eight Republicans joined with Democrats to oust McCarthy.
Barring these instances, the Speaker is usually elected at the beginning of a new parliament and serves in that capacity for the entire two-year term.
The Clerk of the House presides over the election of the Speaker. Members call the names of their chosen speakers from the floor. These are rare and time-consuming roll calls that add to the drama in the chamber. Members often liven up proceedings by shouting or standing up when voting.
Who can nominate?
Any name can be called from the chamber. Traditionally, but not necessarily, the speaker is a member of the House of Representatives.
In the past few years, Democratic President Joe Biden and Trump, as well as Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, have won votes for House Speaker. No one received a majority of votes. And generally, the party’s official speaker candidate is the one who ultimately takes the gavel.
Republicans chose Johnson as speaker in a secret vote in November. A week later, the Democratic Party unanimously chose Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York to lead the party, despite losing the election.
Members of Congress are not obligated to vote for their own party’s nominee. That’s why the process can quickly become tedious.
Let’s start voting
Once the House has a quorum, that is, the minimum number of members present to proceed, a nomination speech is given on behalf of the speaker candidate. The clerk appoints members from each party to act as tellers to tally the votes before the roll call begins.
To become Speaker, a candidate must receive the votes of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives present and voting.
Historically, the magic number has been 218 out of 435 members of Congress. But many previous speakers, including Mr. McCarthy, won by fewer votes because lawmakers sometimes voted “present” instead of shouting their names. Every member voting “present” reduces the overall number needed to reach a majority.
It remains to be seen whether Mr Johnson will reach a majority to become chairman in the first vote. If there are not enough votes, the clerk will likely initiate another roll call vote.
It took McCarthy 15 grueling votes over four days to win enough support to become the 55th speaker in January 2023.
Handing over the gavel
If the candidate for chair receives a majority of those present and voting, the clerk will announce the election results.
A bipartisan committee, typically made up of members from the selected candidate’s home state, escorts the incoming speaker to the speaker’s podium, where the oath of office is taken. This oath is the same as the oath new members take after a speaker is selected.
The outgoing chairman typically joins his successor in the speaker’s chair and is given the gavel as a tribute to the peaceful transition of power from one party leader to another. This time, however, it is likely that it will be Mr. Jeffries who will hand the gavel to Mr. Johnson again, given that Mr. Johnson is already a speaker.
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