Mike Johnson re-elected as House speaker after brief Republican revolt – live

Mike Johnson says Congress will act quickly to listen to the voices of the American people. “We will start by defending our nation’s borders,” he says.

The House speaker says Congress, in coordination with Donald Trump, will give border and immigration enforcement agents “the resources that they need to do their job”.

“We will secure the border. We will deport dangerous, criminal illegal aliens, and finally, finish building the border wall,” he says.

Addressing the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, he says: “You said you’d work with us on that. Hakeem, I’m counting on it.”

Mike Johnson urges the preservation of what he calls the “seven core principles of American conservatism”: individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity.

The House speaker says it is the “simple truth” that parents and families should be in charge of their children’s educations, and not administrators.

He says that “open borders” and “over regulation” have “destroyed” US cities and “stifled” innovation, that inflation and “weak” leadership have left Americans “poorer” and placed them in a “perilous” position.

But Johnson says the recent months have shown something “really remarkable” happening, “a groundswell of Americans” who “demand that we put the interest of Americans first again”.

“This is a powerful new coalition of our country. It’s a coalition that insists that we purge the policies of America last and we bury them in the graveyard of history’s mistakes,” he says.

Mike Johnson asks for a moment of silence in the House in honor of the victims of the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans before addressing lawmakers.

Johnson says he is grateful for his re-election as speaker and for the confidence that the chamber has placed on him. “It is the great honor of my life to serve this body with all of you,” he says.

He says this is a “momentous” time in the history of the country, which he says is the “the freest, the most powerful, most benevolent nation that has ever been in the history of the world”.

Today so far

Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas, supported Mike Johnson today despite speculation that he might vote against the incumbent speaker.

But Roy, who initially did not cast a vote when his name was first said during the roll call, has made clear that Johnson should not perceive his support as a blank check.

“Everything we do needs to set the Congress up for success and to deliver the Trump agenda for the American people,” Roy said in a social media post.

“Speaker Johnson has not made that clear yet, so there are many members beyond the three who voted for someone else who have reservations.”

Johnson wins House speakership on first ballot after brief Republican revolt

To be clear: the first vote in the House speakership election remains open at this point, as the gavel has not come down yet, so members could still theoretically change their votes.

Mike Johnson just walked off the House floor with two of the dissenting Republicans, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, so it appears the speaker may attempt to sway them.

If Johnson can convince both members to support him, then he might still win the speakership on the first ballot.

Although the first vote in the speakership election has not yet been officially gaveled out, some House Republicans are already voicing their frustration with the three conference members who voted against Mike Johnson.

Representative Tony Gonzales, a Republican of Texas who supported Johnson, said in a social media post, “119th Congress starts where the 118th left off. Tough to save a country when Republicans can’t get out of our own way.”

In January 2023, at the start of the last Congress, the House was at a standstill for days as Republican Kevin McCarthy required 15 ballots to capture the speakership.

As the House clerk works to finalize the first vote in the speakership race, the House Democratic whip, Katherine Clark, has sent a notice to caucus members advising them to return to the floor immediately.

Assuming the current vote count stands, the chamber is expected to proceed immediately to a second ballot, as no candidate for the speakership has yet won a majority of support.

The first speakership vote has not yet officially concluded, as Stacey Plaskett, the delegate representing the US Virgin Islands, posed a parliamentary inquiry as to why she and other delegates representing US territories and the District of Columbia were not called upon to participate in the speakership election.

Under House rules, only members representing one of the 50 US states can participate in the speakership election. Plaskett noted that delegates in the chamber collectively represent more than 4 million Americans who would not have a say in the speakership race.

Plaskett’s words were met with a standing ovation from Democrats while Republicans called for order in the chamber.

A sixth House Republican, Chip Roy of Texas, chose not to vote when his name was initially called by the reading clerk.

Even if all six House Republicans who initially withheld their support do end up voting for Mike Johnson, the incumbent speaker will not have enough support to capture the gavel on the first ballot, as at least three of his colleagues have already voted against him.

Third House Republican votes against Johnson