REPUBLICAN MIKE JOHNSON has been returned as speaker of the US House of Representatives with the crucial backing of incoming president Donald Trump, ending a bitter standoff that threatened to see the 2025 session opening in chaos.

The Republican was returned to the role of speaker with 218 votes  – the minimum number required. 

Johnson had angered backbenchers by working with Democrats to pass legislation, and his victory was secured only after tense backroom negotiations that saw more than a dozen rank-and-file Republicans voice doubts over his leadership.

A chaotic 2023-25 session was marked by conservative anger in particular over the Louisiana lawmaker’s handling of spending negotiations, as fiscal hawks lined up to accuse him of being soft on the deficit.

In the end there were only three Republican holdouts as voting began – with all 215 Democrats backing their leader Hakeem Jeffries. Johnson was able to keep his speakership ambitions alive by persuading two to change tack.

With the exception of Kentucky conservative hardliner Thomas Massie, the opposition to Johnson always looked superficial, and he had spent much of the week working the phones and holding meetings with the conservatives who had opposed his candidacy.

He appeared to assuage some lingering doubts in the hours before the vote by pledging to “reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory.”

And Trump weighed in early today with a social media post wishing Johnson “Good luck” and declaring him “very close to having 100% support.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries hands the gavel to House Speaker Mike Johnson in a customary nod to the peaceful transfer of power. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Defeat for Johnson would have marked another embarrassment for Trump, who was shown the limits of his sway over House Republicans after they rebuffed his demands for a suspension of the country’s borrowing limit in December.

High stakes

Trump’s looming presidential inauguration had also raised the stakes of the speakership fight, since the House would not have been able to certify the 78-year-old Republican’s victory, set for Monday.

Johnson would also have risked losing Trump’s support if the battle dragged out further, with moderate Republicans beginning to cast around for other options.

The speaker wields key influence in Washington by presiding over House business and is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president.

But Johnson has been weakened by the standoff with his party’s hardliners, who demonstrated the leverage they hold given the Republicans’ wafer-thin majority in the lower house of Congress.

“Mike Johnson brings people together to achieve a shared goal. He is deeply committed to conservative values and advancing a pro-America agenda. He is making Louisiana proud,” said Bill Cassidy, who represents Johnson’s home state in the Senate.

“Americans trust Mike to lead the House effectively and with integrity this Congress. I do too!”

House Republicans are scheduled to gather for a retreat in Washington on Saturday to talk about their plans for 2025, and the leadership meets again on Sunday in Baltimore.

The House of Representatives meets to elect a speaker and convene the new 119th Congress at the Capitol in Washington. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

But the first order of business will be to consider a controversial proposed change to its rules package – which governs daily operations – that would allow only Republicans to force a vote on removing the speaker.

Democrats argue that the reform would leave Johnson answerable only to his own side rather than whole chamber. In the last Congress, any single House member could introduce a “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair.

The 36-page rules package for the 119th Congress raises the threshold to nine co-sponsors from the majority party.

© – AFP 2025