Three Republican holdouts are standing in the way of the re-election of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Reps. Thomas Massie from Kentucky, Ralph Norman from South Carolina, and Keith Self from Texas each voted for other Republican candidates instead of Johnson.
All 215 Democrats voted for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., making the current vote count 216-215 in favor of Johnson. But because 218 votes are needed for a candidate to win, the House has taken a brief recess before voting again.
Johnson is unable to afford more than one Republican “no.” Since Massie had already expressed his unequivocal opposition to Johnson some days ago, Johnson’s re-election hinges on Norman and Self switching their votes.
Massie voted for Rep. Tom Emmer, Norman voted for Rep. Jim Jordan, and Self voted for Rep. Byron Donalds.
Seven other Republicans did not respond at the first count, waiting until the end of the ballot to vote for Johnson.
Those holdouts, who had previously expressed dissatisfaction of Johnson’s speakership, included:
Rep. Andy BiggsRep. Michael Cloud from TexasRep. Andrew Clyde from GeorgiaRep. Paul Gosar from ArizonaRep. Andy Harris from MarylandRep. Chip Roy from TexasRep. Michael Waltz from Florida
