Although his party has its own majority in the House of Representatives, it was uncertain until the end whether the Louisiana Republican would be able to gather enough votes to be re-elected as speaker.
He was able to exhale after reaching 218 votes, which by the smallest possible margin means a majority in the House.
The Democratic challenger, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, received 215 votes.
The vote was chaotic and the result took a long time, as the Republicans negotiated internally to get the last necessary votes – which Johnson finally succeeded in doing.
Mike Johnson on his way into the House of Representatives on Friday morning.
Mike Johnson on his way into the House of Representatives on Friday morning.
Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP/TT
Has turned former allies into adversaries
52-year-old Johnson was elected as speaker in October 2023, when the Republicans fought for 22 days to replace party colleague Kevin McCarthy who was pushed in a historic vote. Several candidates then tried and failed before Johnson was elected.
But Johnson’s handling of a number of budget disputes, including an aid package for Ukraine last spring and most recently a battle over a temporary deal to avoid a government shutdown, has turned at least some former allies into adversaries.
Johnson was nonetheless upbeat when he arrived at Congress: Earlier this week, President-elect Donald Trump voiced his support for his party colleague to continue as speaker.
Early on Friday, Trump on his platform Truth Social reiterated his support, writing that Johnson has “close to 100 percent support” and that “a victory for Mike today is a great victory for the Republican Party.”