By the narrowest of margins, House Speaker Mike Johnson was re-elected on Friday.
The vote was 218-215.
Going into the election, Johnson faced an uphill task to remain speaker.
As noted by CNN, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky had said going into the vote that he would not support Johnson, and he did not.
With Johnson able to lose only one GOP defector if all House members voted, it was imperative for him to corral every other Republican vote in the House, where the Republicans have a majority.
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Because the seat held by former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida remains empty, there were 434 members present, with 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats. That meant Johnson needed 218 votes.
Two other GOP representatives—Keith Self of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina—originally voted for other candidates, but after a deliberations, they changed their votes.
Republican Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas said Republicans needed to elect Johnson and move on to accomplish what members were elected to do.
“There will be many an opportunity over the course of the next several months as we prosecute an agenda to stumble, shoot ourselves in the foot. We can’t rely on help from the left, so we’ve got to carry this on our own,” he said.
“Put it in the bank and move on to our legislative agenda,” he said.
A report from The New York Times said that prior to the vote, Johnson shared a list of promises that included “creating a working group compromised of independent experts” to work with the Department of Government Efficiency, a group led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
President-elect Donald Trump had urged Republicans to support Johnson.
“Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support,” Trump posted Friday on Truth Social.
“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! – A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!” Trump wrote.
In a previous Truth Social post calling for Republicans to unite behind Johnson, Trump urged Republicans to build off of their election victories.
“LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN. The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration,” Trump wrote.
“We are the Party of COMMON SENSE, a primary reason that we WON, in a landslide, the magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024. ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, 312 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, AND THE POPULAR VOTE BY MILLIONS OF VOTERS,” Trump wrote.
In another Truth Social post, Trump noted that Republicans need to band together to overcome expected Democratic opposition.
“We just won a Historic Landslide and Mandate from the American People, but Senate Democrats are organizing to improperly stall and delay the confirmation process of many of our Great Nominees. They will try all sorts of tricks starting very soon. Republicans must not allow them to do that,” Trump wrote.
“We have a Country to run, and many big problems to solve, mostly created by Democrats. REPUBLICANS, BE SMART AND TOUGH!!!”
This article originally appeared on The Western Journal, and is reposted with permission.
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