The House of Representatives will soon vote for the president House to run the House for the next two years under the incoming Republican administration.
The previous race for the top seat in the House of Representatives was plagued by infighting among the GOP, which in recent years has not easily found consensus on a presidential nominee. Former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted by his Republican colleagues as speaker in October 2023, and it took weeks for lawmakers to finally choose their next leader: Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.
Johnson is running to retain his position in the next Congress, but he has not yet won the support of all his Republican colleagues. The 2025 vote carries particularly heavy pressure as the House of Representatives must agree and elect a Speaker to confirm President-elect Donald Trump victory in the elections just a few days later.
When will the vote for the president of the House of Representatives take place?
The House is scheduled to vote on Friday, January 3, 2025, at noon, as required by the Constitution.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson is running for Speaker of the 119th Congress. (Valerie Plesch)
The speaker must be elected before the 119th Congress is sworn in.
Who’s running?
Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress, so they are in charge of electing the Speaker.
Incumbent Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson is again running for House Leader. At this point, no other candidate has thrown their hat in the ring, but in past years, alternatives have emerged during voting day.
How many votes does a candidate need to win?
Republicans currently hold a slim four-seat majority in the 219-seat House compared to 215 held by Democrats.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy swears in the officers of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2023. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times)
The GOP’s majority will shrink even more when two of Trump’s Cabinet picks, Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., assume their roles pending Senate confirmation, which is expected several weeks after the speaker’s vote.
A presidential candidate must win an absolute majority to win. Given the number of seats held by the GOP, the Republican nominee would need 218 votes if all 434 members vote.
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Which Republicans have not pledged to support Johnson?
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., recently told reporters he would not vote for Johnson for speaker.
Another GOP member suggested he has not yet committed to voting for Johnson: “At this point, I think Mike has done an admirable job under difficult circumstances, but I’m going to keep my options open. I want to talk to Mike,” said Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., on “Mornings with Mary” on Fox Business.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., recently told reporters that he will not vote for Rep. Mike Johnson for House Speaker. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/File)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., recently said Democrats would not save Johnson unless he received enough GOP votes.
How might the recent government funding bill affect the vote?
Johnson introduced a government funding bill in early December, but the first proposal failed before it even reached the House of Representatives after opposition from Republican lawmakers and outside Trump allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Another government funding bill was brought to the House of Representatives, but bipartisan lawmakers voted against the bill. Johnson introduced a third package, but many of his GOP colleagues did not support it. Although 34 Republicans voted against Johnson’s bill, it passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support from Democrats.
With more than two dozen Republicans breaking with Johnson in the fight to fund the government, he could face a potential pushback against his efforts to re-elect the president. Four to 10 Republicans could oppose Johnson in the Fox News chairman race. Chad Pergram previously reported.
Can the race for the House affect the certification of the election?
The vote for the chairman will take place on Friday, just three days before Congress is due to confirm the results of the Electoral College for Trump.
President-elect Donald Trump is endorsing Rep. Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House of Representatives. (Andrew Harnik)
The House of Representatives cannot proceed with any official business, such as counting the presidential vote for Trump, until a Speaker is elected and the next Congress is sworn in. In January 2023, it took four days and 15 ballots for House Republicans to elect a speaker.
Trump has announced that he will back Johnson for the position, a key endorsement that could help determine the Louisiana Republican’s outlook after Friday’s vote.
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“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all the destructive policies of the past administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my complete & Total MAGA support!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Monday.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
