Mike Johnson re-elected as US House Speaker after averting Republican rebellion

Republicans have united behind a leader to deliver Donald Trump’s agenda, after a group of rebels backed down from their bid to block his ascension. But more trouble is brewing.

A band of Republican rebels has abandoned their bid to block Donald Trump’s choice to lead the party in the US House of Representatives, handing Mike Johnson the speakership in a cliffhanger vote.

In dramatic scenes on the first day of the new Congress, nine of the 219 Republican House members appeared to be co-ordinating to kill Mr Johnson’s leadership, defying the President-elect and potentially even delaying next week’s certification of his election victory.

But six rebels agreed to back Mr Johnson and two more followed suit after tense backroom talks, resulting in his return as the Speaker in a 218-215 vote over Democratic Party leader Hakeem Jeffries. The speakership is second in the line of succession to the presidency.

Mike Johnson is congratulated by his colleagues. Picture: Andrew Harnik / Getty

The Republican Louisiana congressman will now be tasked with delivering Mr Trump’s agenda while his party holds the narrowest House majority in a century, with several disaffected members ready to strike if they are unhappy with his leadership.

Two years ago, Mr Johnson’s predecessor Kevin McCarthy claimed the gavel after 15 votes across a gruelling four days, only to be ousted in an unprecedented coup nine months later.

Texas congressman Chip Roy was among those who eventually agreed to back Mr Johnson after being directly lobbied by Mr Trump who said he would “do what’s right for the country”.

Mr Roy and his hard-right allies also ditched their demand for the Texan to lead the House’s powerful rules committee, which their fellow Republican Don Bacon warned would be “like putting Stalin in charge of amnesty and diplomacy”.

Mike Johnson negotiates with rebel holdouts. Picture: Win McNamee / Getty

But Mr Roy issued an ominous warning to Mr Johnson in the wake of his victory, suggesting the House could be in for more chaos even after Mr Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

“Everything we do needs to set the Congress up for success and to deliver the Trump agenda … Speaker Johnson has not made that clear yet, so there are many members beyond the three who voted for someone else who have reservations,” Mr Roy said.

The rebels later released a letter of demands to Mr Johnson, including refusing to increase federal borrowing before real spending cuts were delivered, a flashpoint likely to ignite soon as the US nears its legislated debt limit.

Mr Johnson had earlier told his colleagues they could not “afford any palace drama” as he vowed that he would not “make deals with anyone” to shore up his leadership.

The President-elect rowed in behind Mr Johnson, and said on the day of the vote he was “a fine man of great ability” whose speakership would be “a big win for the Republican Party”.

Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie was the one Republican holdout, saying: “You can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them. You can start cutting off my fingers, I am not voting for Mike Johnson.”

If a speaker was not elected, the House’s new members would not have been able to be sworn in, and Congress’s certification of Mr Trump’s election victory on January 6 could have been delayed.

Originally published as Mike Johnson re-elected as US House Speaker after averting Republican rebellion