Mike Johnson begins vying for speakership on House floor amid GOP leadership crisis

CNN
—

Rep. Mike Johnson is set to take his fight for speakership to the House floor on Wednesday, a key moment for House Republicans that comes amid uncertainty over whether the Louisiana lawmaker will be able to muster the 217 votes needed to pass.

Johnson, who serves as the House GOP conference vice chairman, received a nomination for speaker Late Tuesday evening. The voting ended a chaotic day that began with Republicans electing Minnesota’s representative. Tom Emmer He was to become their latest nominee only to withdraw hours later after facing fierce opposition from the right wing of the convention and condemnation from former President Donald Trump. The day ended with a vote to choose a new candidate – this time, Johnson won.

Pressure is mounting at the GOP convention as the House remains deadlocked without a speaker. But Republicans have so far struggled to unite behind a successor following Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster. The vote to oust McCarthy plunged the House into uncharted territory, and it’s unclear whether either candidate can win after the unprecedented move.

Following the nomination vote, House Republicans took another vote to gauge the nominee’s support within the convention. About 20 members abstained from that vote, and Johnson could lose just four votes on the floor, creating uncertainty about whether he would get the necessary votes.

“Democracy is messy sometimes, but that’s our system,” Johnson said Tuesday evening. “The idea is to go to the House floor tomorrow and make it official. So we will do that. ”

Emmer was the third Republican to win the GOP nomination, following Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

After winning the party’s nomination, Emmer faced swift opposition from the right side of his convention, as well as condemnation from Trump. In a post on Truth Social, Trump called Emmer a “global rhino” and said voting for him was “a tragic mistake.”