U.S. Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, is the latest lawmaker to earn the GOP’s endorsement to become Speaker of the House.
“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system,” Johnson told a collection of reporters in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, October 24.
“We are going to restore your trust in what we do here, you’re going to see a new form of government and we’re going to move this quickly. This group here is ready to govern.”
Johnson is the latest in a long line of Republicans to earn the party’s nomination to become Speaker of the House. Within the last two weeks, Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan and Tom Emmer have all earned the party’s endorsement, but dropped out before securing the votes needed to be sworn in as the Speaker of the House.
Members of the Republican Party are not confident in Johnson’s ability to become Speaker of the House in a full vote of U.S. Representatives from both parties. During the Republican Party’s endorsement process, the lawmaker from Louisiana earned 128 of the 204 votes available. Of the remaining 76 votes, 31 were cast in support of a candidate who was not featured on the ballot.
“When you see 31 people voting for other,” U.S. Rep. Randy Weber said on Tuesday, October 24.
“You know, in police work they call that a clue.”
Johnson will have less than 24 hours to secure the votes needed to become Speaker of the House. A full vote is set to begin on the House floor on Wednesday, October 25 at approximately 12 p.m. EST.
