Trump touts Mike Johnson for House speaker as Republican faces tight vote

President-elect Donald Trump again called on fellow Republicans to select Rep. Mike Johnson as speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday, as the 119th Congress prepared to come into session.

Trump’s support on social media came as Johnson — whose current term as speaker expired at 11 a.m. ET — faces a potentially very tight vote in the House, where the GOP holds an ultra-slim majority.

If every one of the 434 House members shows up for the vote, Johnson will need nearly every Republican to vote for him to become speaker.

“Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!!” Trump wrote. “A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!”

Johnson, who represents a district in Louisiana, needs a majority of the House members present for Friday’s vote to become speaker for the 119th Congress. The vote is set to begin sometime before 1 p.m. ET.

Republicans have 219 seats in the new Congress. Democrats, who are set to nominate Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York as speaker, hold 215 seats.

That narrow split means that, if every House member is in attendance and every Democrat votes for Jeffries, Johnson will need a minimum of 218 Republican votes to be elected speaker.

If two or more Republicans decide to vote for someone else, Johnson’s overall support would fall below 218, and he would not be elected speaker on that vote.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, has already said he does not plan to support Johnson, leaving no margin at all if Massie follows through on his pledge.

Johnson was first elected speaker on Oct. 25, 2023, three weeks after then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, was ousted from that slot when a handful of Republican members joined every Democrat to vote for his removal.

Johnson was the fourth nominee considered to replace McCarthy.

McCarthy had only been speaker himself for nine months when he was removed — he was first elected speaker in January 2023 after four days of voting and 15 ballots.

This is developing news. Check back for updates.