WASHINGTON—The House GOP conference on Nov. 13 nominated Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) to remain as speaker of the House.
Meanwhile, Republicans are on the verge of retaining the House, just one seat shy of a majority, according to The Associated Press.
This would give the GOP control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, bolstering President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to implement his agenda.
The speaker ran unopposed and was endorsed by Trump, who attended the House GOP meeting on Nov. 13.
However, Johnson must win the majority of the full House to retain the gavel.
The vote is set for early January after the new Congress is sworn in.
House Republicans also elected Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) to retain his No. 2 position in the conference in the next Congress. Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) was reelected as No. 3 in the conference.
Johnson became speaker on Oct. 25, 2023, just weeks after former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was stripped of the gavel after nine months.
He was first elected to Congress in 2017 and represents Louisiana’s Eighth Congressional District. He was previously in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Before becoming speaker, Johnson was chairman of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in Congress, and was the vice chair of the House GOP Conference.
The speaker has promised that the House GOP would deliver an “America First agenda.”
“It will grow our economy and reduce inflation. It will secure our borders,” he said at a news conference on Nov. 12.
“We will restore America’s energy dominance once again, we'll implement educational freedom, and we will drain the swamp. And that’s just the beginning of the agenda.”
Among numerous agenda items, Johnson has said that the House GOP would repeal Obamacare, counter the China threat, and extend and build upon the 2017 tax cuts.
He has not gone into specifics.
While the size of the majority is not clear, Johnson may have a narrower majority than he will start with because Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) are set to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and national security adviser, respectively.
Stefanik will need Senate confirmation, while Waltz will be able to start on Day 1 as his position does not require approval from the upper congressional chamber.
Johnson said on Nov. 12 that he does not anticipate any further vacancies but that the House GOP is ready even with the upcoming empty seats.
