WASHINGTON — Mike Johnson narrowly won another term as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, due in part to Georgia Republicans, all of whom voted to support him.
Prior to the vote, U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde had said he was unsure whether he would vote for Johnson, but he ultimately cast his vote quietly to the clerk after refusing to back the incumbent when his name was called twice before.
Other GOP holdouts took longer to come around, but after a roughly 30-minute pause Johnson was elected speaker in an extended first round of voting.
Clyde, who represents northeast Georgia, was the only member of Georgia’s delegation who hesitated to back Johnson. The other eight Republicans voted for him the first time their names were called, and the five Democrats supported U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Clyde, R-Athens, joined a handful of members in not voting for anyone initially, although they all backed Johnson by the end. However, three other GOP lawmakers voted for people other than Johnson, robbing him initially of the 218 needed to remain speaker despite the party’s thin majority. Two of them came back after the break and changed their vote to Johnson, giving him just enough votes to be elected.
Johnson worked furiously to boost his numbers after he initially fell short, leaving the vote open while he and allies addressed his critics. Clyde and other conservatives were seen following Johnson into a room off the House floor. During the break, a freelance photographer zoomed in on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s cellphone while she was on the line with Susie Wiles, President-elect Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Politico reported.
This is the second consecutive session of Congress where competing factions of Republicans have injected drama into the speakership vote. Two years ago, California U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy faced 15 rounds of voting over several days before he was voted in. Some of those same critics kicked him from the post just months later.
Clyde was among the lawmakers who opposed McCarthy back in January 2023, only voting for him to become speaker after McCarthy made several promises to give hard-liners more power.
Clyde recently showed he is willing to defy Trump, who had endorsed Johnson remaining as speaker. In December, Clyde was one of one of 38 Republicans who voted against a Trump-backed plan to combine government funding with an increase of the debt limit.
Clyde recently told WDUN’s Martha Zoller he hadn’t decided whether Johnson was the right leader as Republicans seek to cut spending and implement Trump’s priorities like curbing illegal immigration.
“I’m not there yet,” he said. “My powder is still dry.”
When he finally supported Johnson on Friday, he did so by walking to the rostrum and apparently speaking softly to the clerk who then announced it publicly. Every other House member spoke their choice aloud, and Democrats jeered Clyde for not being more verbal about his change of heart.
Despite the first-round drama, Johnson is supported by the vast majority of GOP members. His election means that on Monday, Congress can move forward as expected to certify Trump’s presidential victory by counting electoral votes.
There was never a clear alternative to Johnson who could get the votes needed to be speaker.
That led some previous Johnson critics, such as Greene, to throw their support behind him. In May, she led an unsuccessful effort to remove him as speaker.
On Thursday night, the Rome Republican said she would be voting for him and encouraged her colleagues to do the same in a video posted on social media.
“Let’s put aside our pride, let’s put aside our egos, and let’s put aside the infighting,” she said. “It’s time to come together as Republicans, and it’s time to do whatever it takes to make sure that we deliver the mandate that the American people told us to do.”
How members of Georgia’s delegation voted in the first round for U.S. House speaker
Voted for Mike Johnson, R-La.
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome
U.S. Rep. Brian Jack, R-Peachtree City
U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee
U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton
Voted for Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta
U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta
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