Chamber will be forced in to a second ballot after three Republicans vote against Johnson in first round
Republican Mike Johnson failed to secure the House speakership in the first round of voting Friday, forcing the chamber into a second ballot and threatening to reignite the leadership chaos that has plagued House Republicans over the past year.
Johnson couldn’t afford to lose more than one Republican vote, but three voted for someone other than Johnson. Kentucky’s Thomas Massie backed Minnesota’s Tom Emmer, South Carolina’s Ralph Norman backed Ohio’s Jim Jordan and Texas’ Keith Self backed Florida’s Byron Donalds. All Democrats backed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.