Republicans re-elect Mike Johnson as US House speaker in nail-biting vote

The US has opened the 119th Congress with a vote for the speakership in its lower chamber, the House of Representatives.

The United States House of Representatives has re-elected Republican Mike Johnson as its speaker, in a vote seen as a nail-biting test of party unity ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in the White House.

But Johnson’s campaign to keep the speaker’s gavel was not without its bumps on Friday.

Johnson emerged victorious after an uncertain first round of voting, as some members of his party initially withheld their votes over issues like Johnson’s role in the recent bipartisan budget negotiations.

He ultimately won the speakership with 218 votes out of a total of 435, after two of the hold-outs — Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas — changed their votes.

Another 215 votes, all Democratic, went to minority leader Hakeem Jeffries. Representative Thomas Massie, who had vowed to refuse Johnson, cast his vote for fellow Republican Tom Emmer.