House speaker: Republicans regroup, nominate Louisiana’s Mike Johnson

WASHINGTON — House Republicans tabbed Rep. Mike Johnson on Tuesday night to become speaker designate as the GOP attempted for a fourth time to find a replacement for Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House.

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Johnson, 51, is an attorney and former radio host who has served in the House since 2017.

He is vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, according to The Washington Post.

Johnson collected 128 votes to earn a majority of Republican votes, the newspaper reported. Byron Donalds of Florida finished second with 29 votes. There were 44 “other” votes, with 43 going to McCarthy, according to the Post.

It was the second time on Tuesday that the House had designated a candidate for speaker. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the House majority whip, was chosen in the early afternoon but withdrew his candidacy less than four hours later when more than 26 Republicans said they would not back the choice. Former President Donald Trump also criticized the choice.

Even though Johnson was nominated, it was unclear whether he could gain the 217 votes from within his party needed to take the Speaker’s gavel.

Republicans will hold a roll-call vote behind closed doors on Wednesday to see if Johnson can earn enough support, CNN reported.

Emmer had won an internal party vote by a 117-97 margin over Johnson earlier Tuesday, The New York Times reported.

But immediately after his nomination, 26 Republicans voted to say they would not support him when a vote came to the House floor, NBC News reported.

Emmer was elected the conference’s nominee at 12:16 p.m. EDT, according to the Post. He dropped out at 4:26 p.m.

On his Truth Social platform, Trump called Emmer a “Globalist RINO” whose elevation to speaker would be “a tragic mistake.”

“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them. He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA — MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Republicans originally nominated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., to replace McCarthy, but he withdrew his candidacy the next day.

GOP members then turned to Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who was unable to collect the necessary votes in three rounds of balloting. Hours after his third attempt failed Friday on the floor of the House, Jordan lost an internal ballot to remain the nominee for the speaker’s gavel.

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