The Fort Worth Press - Trump-backed Republican Johnson elected speaker of US House

USD -
AED 3.673035
AFN 71.323752
ALL 89.53094
AMD 391.220403
ANG 1.790208
AOA 916.000367
ARS 1073.553904
AUD 1.656644
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.70397
BAM 1.766685
BBD 2.011533
BDT 121.061023
BGN 1.79063
BHD 0.376957
BIF 2961.474188
BMD 1
BND 1.332099
BOB 6.885493
BRL 5.827404
BSD 0.996193
BTN 84.992526
BWP 13.874477
BYN 3.260694
BYR 19600
BZD 2.001147
CAD 1.421295
CDF 2873.000362
CHF 0.861245
CLF 0.025114
CLP 963.730396
CNY 7.28155
CNH 7.28834
COP 4210.53
CRC 503.907996
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 99.605696
CZK 23.03904
DJF 177.720393
DKK 6.81224
DOP 62.907224
DZD 133.59404
EGP 50.591504
ERN 15
ETB 131.300523
EUR 0.912925
FJD 2.314904
FKP 0.762682
GBP 0.774585
GEL 2.750391
GGP 0.762682
GHS 15.48644
GIP 0.762682
GMD 72.139607
GNF 8645.949925
GTQ 7.693185
GYD 209.183137
HKD 7.774975
HNL 25.577483
HRK 6.878904
HTG 130.793752
HUF 364.387873
IDR 16744.473258
ILS 3.746145
IMP 0.762682
INR 85.338154
IQD 1306.506853
IRR 42336.988543
ISK 130.567142
JEP 0.762682
JMD 157.094395
JOD 0.70904
JPY 147.21804
KES 129.238254
KGS 86.692362
KHR 3971.595158
KMF 445.147581
KPW 899.928114
KRW 1451.374019
KWD 0.307615
KYD 0.83156
KZT 501.917416
LAK 21606.921497
LBP 89544.522786
LKR 295.184792
LRD 199.781411
LSL 18.739948
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.82245
MAD 9.516652
MDL 17.902827
MGA 4631.875059
MKD 56.260592
MMK 2099.545327
MNT 3504.730669
MOP 8.010542
MRU 39.660628
MUR 45.370989
MVR 15.441096
MWK 1732.00408
MXN 20.438104
MYR 4.442621
MZN 63.8826
NAD 18.739948
NGN 1536.123004
NIO 36.754903
NOK 10.75399
NPR 136.60505
NZD 1.788861
OMR 0.384952
PAB 1
PEN 3.666345
PGK 4.106218
PHP 57.053122
PKR 279.986588
PLN 3.82525
PYG 7937.001208
QAR 3.640374
RON 4.504564
RSD 106.000243
RUB 84.082892
RWF 1417.183198
SAR 3.750373
SBD 8.499278
SCR 14.328056
SDG 600.377285
SEK 10.016855
SGD 1.334705
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.750371
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 569.677964
SRD 36.564761
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.75037
SYP 13001.416834
SZL 18.739948
THB 34.107305
TJS 10.883523
TMT 3.497769
TND 3.055277
TOP 2.408314
TRY 37.985795
TTD 6.752072
TWD 33.07735
TZS 2654.318194
UAH 41.285264
UGX 3652.036928
UYU 42.304314
UZS 12908.018961
VES 70.043118
VND 25805.374257
VUV 123.606268
WST 2.823884
XAF 593.530108
XAG 0.033825
XAU 0.000331
XCD 2.707263
XDR 0.753961
XOF 593.530108
XPF 107.975038
YER 245.884458
ZAR 19.08851
ZMK 9001.203587
ZMW 27.959236
ZWL 321.999592
  • CMSC

    -0.0900

    22.17

    -0.41%

  • BCC

    -0.2990

    94.331

    -0.32%

  • RIO

    -4.0400

    54.39

    -7.43%

  • SCS

    -0.1350

    10.605

    -1.27%

  • AZN

    -5.3750

    68.545

    -7.84%

  • NGG

    -3.4900

    65.9

    -5.3%

  • GSK

    -2.6600

    36.35

    -7.32%

  • CMSD

    -0.0350

    22.635

    -0.15%

  • RBGPF

    1.0200

    69.02

    +1.48%

  • BP

    -2.8800

    28.46

    -10.12%

  • JRI

    -0.7900

    12.03

    -6.57%

  • RYCEF

    -1.4200

    8.38

    -16.95%

  • BTI

    -1.9750

    39.945

    -4.94%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    22.75

    +0.4%

  • RELX

    -2.6200

    48.82

    -5.37%

  • VOD

    -0.8650

    8.505

    -10.17%

Trump-backed Republican Johnson elected speaker of US House
Trump-backed Republican Johnson elected speaker of US House / Photo: © AFP/File

Trump-backed Republican Johnson elected speaker of US House

Republican Mike Johnson was returned as speaker of the US House of Representatives on Friday with the crucial backing of incoming president Donald Trump, ending a bitter standoff that threatened to see the 2025 session opening in chaos.

Text size:

Johnson had angered backbenchers by working with Democrats to pass legislation, and his victory was secured only after tense backroom negotiations that saw more than a dozen rank-and-file Republicans voice doubts over his leadership.

A chaotic 2023-25 session was marked by conservative anger in particular over the Louisiana lawmaker's handling of spending negotiations, as fiscal hawks lined up to accuse him of being soft on the deficit.

In the end there were only three Republican holdouts as voting began -- with all 215 Democrats backing their leader Hakeem Jeffries. Johnson was able to keep his speakership ambitions alive by persuading two to change tack.

With the exception of Kentucky conservative hardliner Thomas Massie, the opposition to Johnson always looked superficial, and he had spent much of the week working the phones and holding meetings with the conservatives who had opposed his candidacy.

He appeared to assuage some lingering doubts in the hours before the vote by pledging to "reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory."

And Trump weighed in early Friday with a social media post wishing Johnson "Good luck" and declaring him "very close to having 100% support."

With the vote looking set to go down to the wire, former Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is 84 and recently suffered a fractured hip, turned up to cast her ballot, wearing flat heels for possibly the first time in her career.

Defeat for Johnson would have marked another embarrassment for Trump, who was shown the limits of his sway over House Republicans after they rebuffed his demands for a suspension of the country's borrowing limit in December.

- High stakes -

Trump's looming presidential inauguration had also raised the stakes of the speakership fight, since the House would not have been able to certify the 78-year-old Republican's victory, set for Monday.

Johnson would also have risked losing Trump's support if the battle dragged out further, with moderate Republicans beginning to cast around for other options.

The speaker wields key influence in Washington by presiding over House business and is second in line to the presidency, after the vice president.

But Johnson has been weakened by the standoff with his party's hardliners, who demonstrated the leverage they hold given the Republicans' wafer-thin majority in the lower house of Congress.

"Mike Johnson brings people together to achieve a shared goal. He is deeply committed to conservative values and advancing a pro-America agenda. He is making Louisiana proud," said Bill Cassidy, who represents Johnson's home state in the Senate.

"Americans trust Mike to lead the House effectively and with integrity this Congress. I do too!"

House Republicans are scheduled to gather for a retreat in Washington on Saturday to talk about their plans for 2025, and the leadership meets again on Sunday in Baltimore.

But the first order of business will be to consider a controversial proposed change to its rules package -- which governs daily operations -- that would allow only Republicans to force a vote on removing the speaker.

Democrats argue that the reform would leave Johnson answerable only to his own side rather than whole chamber. In the last Congress, any single House member could introduce a "motion to vacate" the speaker's chair.

The 36-page rules package for the 119th Congress raises the threshold to nine co-sponsors from the majority party.

M.McCoy--TFWP