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President-elect Donald Trump speaks at meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, second from left, applauds with Rep.
Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Richard Hudson, R-N.
C., Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.
, and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn. Associated Press Photo by Alex Brandon President-elect Donald Trump, escorted by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, for a meeting with the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov.
13, 2024, in Washington. Associated Press Photo by Alex Brandon Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise were reelected Wednesday by Republican members of the U.S.
House to keep its top leadership positions in the hands of the two Louisiana lawmakers. The elections were held behind closed doors at a hotel near the U.S.
Capitol. But before Johnson and Scalise actually take those spots, the Republicans will have to officially maintain the majority in the 435-seat House, which would give them the power to set the legislative agenda through 2026. Republicans are just shy of clinching the 218 members needed to claim the majority, something that is widely expected to happen soon as votes continue to be counted.
And, technically, Johnson was chosen speaker-elect. The full House will vote on speaker when the 119th Congress convenes in January. But that election would likely be a foregone conclusion, as most of the members are expected to be Republican.
President-elect Donald Trump addressed House Republicans prior to their vote Wednesday, endorsing both Johnson and Scalise, according to a leadership staffer. With Republicans in charge of all levers of power, Johnson and Scalise say they are ready to implement Trump's legislative agenda. Legislation already is being prepared for rollout on the first day of the new Congress in January to close the border, increase oil and gas exploration and production, restrict what is taught in schools and extend an expiring tax break, among other bills.
“As we prepare for this unified government,” Scalise said Tuesday, “this unique opportunity that the American people have given us, one thing the American people can rest assured in knowing is that President Trump and this Republican majority are already planning to go to work for them on day one in January to start fixing those problems. We have an agenda we've been planning for the first 100 days to lower food costs, to lower energy costs, to secure America's border, to get this economy moving again.” By Wednesday, the Associated Press and The New York Times were reporting that Republicans are two seats shy of the majority with ballots left to be counted in about a dozen races.
Given the math of the outstanding races, when the results are finalized the Republican majority will be slim. In the past such a narrow margin has raised problems for the Republican House leadership. After the 2022 election, Republicans held a four-seat majority.
In January 2023, after the 218th Congress was seated, a cadre of conservatives withheld their votes for 15 rollcalls before Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, was finally elected as speaker. He lasted nine months until a small group of conservatives orchestrated a coup, faulting him for negotiating with Democrats a bill to avoid a government shutdown.
During the next three weeks several Republican leaders, including Scalise, tried but couldn’t get enough GOP votes to win the speakership. Republicans finally turned to one their middle managers at the time, Johnson, to take the top job. As speaker, Johnson ran into many of the same problems with the House’s far right in his efforts to get vital legislation passed.
In May, a tranche of conservatives attempted to fire Johnson — calling him the leader of the "uniparty", stressing their contention that Democrats and Republicans were essentially the same. But enough Democratic and Republican representatives rallied around Johnson for him to keep his job. Johnson and Scalise's apparent success in their effort to maintain the GOP majority is playing a role in their bid for another go in their leadership roles.
Before Election Day, Democrats needed to pick up only four seats to gain the majority, and about a dozen Republicans facing challengers were representing districts that had voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. Johnson toured 250 cities across 40 states during the past year. He said that while on the campaign trail he perceived a shift, particularly among some Hispanic and African Americans, towards Republican stands on issues.
"You've earned the gavel," Rep. Richard Hudson, R-North Carolina, told Johnson Tuesday. Hudson chaired the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Scalise had an equally hectic schedule, traveling to 36 states, 112 cities and 153 districts. In a recent letter he urged GOP colleagues to chose him again as majority leader, saying he had stood “alongside many of you to ensure our team had the necessary resources to win.” In the 2024 election, Trump polled much better in many Democratic districts than he did four years ago, which analysts say helped GOP House candidates win.
Johnson said Wednesday that the House will launch an aggressive legislative agenda during the first 100 days in office. "The only way we are able to work quickly is because we have unified control of the Congress, both chambers now and the White House," Johnson said..
