Mike Johnson Is Speaker of the House. Again.
(UPDATE: After seeming to come up short in his bid to be named speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson (R–La.) won support from a majority of members on Friday afternoon. Two Republicans—Rep. Ralph Norman (R–S.C.) and Rep. Keith Self (R–Texas)—changed their votes to support Johnson after initially voting for other members. This story has been updated throughout.)
After a delay, members of the House of Representatives supported Johnson in his bid to return to the top post in the chamber. He secured 218 votes, the bare minimum to have a majority in the chamber.
With 434 members seated on Friday as the new session began—Matt Gaetz, who was reelected to his Florida seat won’t serve the term—any potential speaker needed 218 votes to seize the gavel. Johnson got 216, while Rep. Hakeem Jefferies (D–N.Y.) got 215, on the initial round of balloting.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) voted for Rep. Tom Emmer (R–Minn.), Rep. Ralph Norman (R–S.C.) voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R–Ohio), and Rep. Keith Self (R–Texas) voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R–Fla.), all apparently as protest votes. None of those memb
Article from Reason.com
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