Donald Trump friend Mike Johnson re-elected US House Speaker

Mike Johnson was re-elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives on Friday after he cut a backroom deal with Republican rebels to secure a tight win in the chamber.

Johnson’s win on the first ballot is a win for Donald Trump, who vigorously endorsed the Louisiana lawmaker for the top job in Congress’s lower chamber.

The vote ended with 218 in favour of Johnson, 215 for Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic chief in the House, and one vote for another candidate.

The US legislature opened for business at noon, with the recent Republican majority in the Senate taking office and the first job in the House being the election of a recent Speaker for its slimmer Republican majority.

Johnson, who replaced Kevin McCarthy after his ousting in October 2023, needed near-unanimous back to be re-elected, given that Republicans control 219 seats compared with 215 seats held by Democrats.

Thomas Massie, a Kentucky lawmaker, opposed Johnson’s re-election, backing Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican. Initially, Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, supported Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Keith Self of Texas supported Byron Donalds of Florida, but they both changed their votes to Johnson after talks with him in a room just off the House floor.

Before the vote, Trump had made a community appeal for Republicans to back Johnson. The vote is crucial in the short term because the House will require to have a Speaker in place to certify Trump’s win in the 2024 presidential election on Monday, paving the way for his inauguration on January 20.

“excellent luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% back,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday ahead of the vote.

“A triumph for Mike today will be a large triumph for the Republican event.”

Longer term, Johnson’s narrow majority could be a impoverished sign for Trump’s ability to pass his agenda through the House, because it would display some Republicans are willing to buck his wishes and defy event discipline.

Johnson faced some opposition to his speakership after dozens of rank-and-file conservatives were angered before the Christmas holiday when he proposed a government capital deal that required compromise with Democrats to ensure its passage.

However, Johnson has stayed very close to Trump and his inner circle in recent weeks, co-ordinating plans to quickly pass his top priorities through Congress, and relied on the president-elect’s back to overcome the resistance.

No other candidate has emerged as a feasible rival to Johnson for the speakership, but the Republican discontent is concentrated within the House liberty Caucus, which includes the most ardent hardline conservatives. Members of the House liberty Caucus are expected to remain a thorn in his side as he tries to pass Trump-backed legislation.