House Speaker Mike Johnson will retain his top Republican leadership post after Donald Trump urged Republicans to vote for him on Wednesday.
House Republicans met for hours at the Hyatt Regency, right next to the Capitol, to deliberate over who should be named the party’s next leader.
Republican lawmakers voted unanimously by voice for Johnson to become the Republican nominee for speaker, sources in the room told DailyMail.com.
He will still need to solidify his members’ support before a full House vote on Jan. 3, 2025. Some hardline Republicans remain unconvinced that he should lead them again in the next Congress.
The other current House Republican leaders, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Majority Leader Tom Emmer, will also remain in their positions after Republicans They voted to keep them in power.
Johnson’s victory comes after Trump joined lawmakers Wednesday morning at the Hyatt before meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.
Trump told Republicans he “100 percent” supports Johnson retaining the presidency. ‘This is a tremendous guy. “I’m with him every step of the way,” Trump said.
President-elect Donald Trump shakes hands with House Speaker Mike Johnson of Los Angeles as he arrives to speak at a meeting with the House Republican Party conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024 , in Washington. During Trump’s remarks to House Republicans, he mentioned that he supports Johnson maintaining his position as leader of the Republican Party.
Trump’s top priorities from the start include enacting tough border security laws, streamlining the “bureaucratic machine,” and restoring American energy dominance.
That Johnson retains office is a vote of confidence for the leader whose path to power was difficult.
In October 2023, Republicans surprisingly voted to oust then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy after eight Republican House members voted with Democrats to oust him.
That sparked a weeklong search to find another leader and began a power vacuum as several candidates threw their hats into the ring for the top job.
After Scalise, firebrand House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and Emmer failed to get enough votes to lead several others running for the president’s gavel.
Finally, after several weeks without a leader and the House becoming ineffective without a rudder to direct the body, the Republicans finally settled on Johnson.
President-elect Donald Trump, joined by House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, for a meeting with the House Republican conference.
Since being elected president, Johnson has faced multiple rounds of funding fights with Democrats and members of his own party.
Multiple government funding debacles for the speaker emerged throughout this year.
In the spring, those disagreements over funding led to threats to remove Johnson from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Tomas Massie, R-Kentucky.
Both were upset by the continued extension of government funding levels that were established under former Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
President Johnson was able to navigate the domestic threats with ease, and Greene and Massie’s warning never materialized into a formal vote to strip the leader of power.
The Republican president also surprised critics skeptical about his fundraising ability.
Johnson has served as speaker since October 2023 after Kevin McCarthy was ousted.
Johnson has often touted his extensive travels across the country during the campaign season.
Ultimately, he was able to raise millions for critical Republican races across the country, and during his tenure, Republicans were able to secure a supermajority.
Johnson will officially become president of the 119th Congress in early January if he wins enough support in a full House vote.
Michigan Republican Rep. Lisa McClain was elected the next chairwoman of the House Republican conference during the voting session.
She defeated Rep. Cat Cammack of Florida in the race to replace GOP Chairwoman Elise Stefanik.
Stefanik will vacate the position after being nominated to serve in Donald Trump’s administration as ambassador to the United Nations.
McClain is a relatively new member, having taken office in January 2023.
“I am honored to be elected by my colleagues to serve as chair of the Republican Conference and thank my MI-09 constituents for their continued support,” McClain said in a statement.
“I am excited to lead our unified team alongside President Trump and President Johnson to pass the America First agenda.”