Watch live coverage as the House of Representatives holds a vote to elect the next speaker, with current House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., aiming for re-election.
Lawmakers in the 119th Congress are set to be sworn in today with Republicans in control of both chambers for the first time since 2019. The House convened around noon is expected to soon begin voting on whether to re-elect Mike Johnson as the speaker; as few as two Republican defections could sink him.
Senate Republicans chose John Thune of South Dakotain the House, Republicans may face some tough battles to pass legislation. Any dissent from within the caucus could doom a vote, while Democrats will be needed to pass most legislation in the Senate.Johnson said he hopes to win this speaker race on the first ballot and believes he has the votes to do so.Johnson told reporters he was willing to go through as many ballots as former Speaker Kevin McCarthy did . “We have to get this job done and unify the conference, and I’m here for the long run,” said Johnson.The House is starting its quorum call now. This is a 15-minute vote by electronic device but in past years has taken 20-40 minutes. This will let us know how many members are present . The Honorable Kevin F. McCumber, acting House clerk, is in the chair with the gavel. This is his first time presiding over the opening of the Congress.The mood in the chamber is positive. It is packed with families up in the galleries and several children of members are on the floor sitting in the seats.Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who holds the title of House speaker emerita, walked onto the House floor to applause from Democrats.This is her first time back at the Capitol since she fell last month during a congressional delegation trip to Luxembourg, which led to her being flown to Germany toAnd at 11:45:10, Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., adjourned the Senate sine die, meaning the 118th Congress is over . When they convene at noon, the 119th will begin, and newly elected or re-elected senators who won their elections in November will be sworn-in. Vice President Kamala Harris will be in the Capitol to swear in the senators, first on the Senate floor in alphabetical order in groups of four, and then again just for the cameras in the Old Senate Chamber one by one for photo op re-enactments. At the end of the day, Republicans will have the majority, but there will only be 99 senators. That’s because Sen-elect Jim Justice, currently the governor of West Virginia, won’t be sworn in right away, thanks to complications that would unfold if he were to leave his term before it ends Jan. 13.Members have started coming into the chamber to stake out their seats. Families of members will be in the galleries up above to watch the proceedings.House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said in an interview on MSNBC that Democrats plan to vote for Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for speaker. The speaker doesn't necessarily have to be from the party that holds the majority.The final session of the 118th House has started with Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., presiding. They will adjourn and the new House will start at noon.Reps. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., and Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., were selected as Trump's picks to be national security adviser and the ambassador to the United Nations, respectively. Stefanik needs to be confirmed by the Senate. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is required to schedule the date for a special election within 90 days of Stefanik's departure from Congress.The Florida secretary of state set the special general elections for Waltz seats for April 1, with the primaries taking place in late January.On Jan. 7, Virginians in Loudoun County will head to the polls for special state House and Senate elections. The outcomes of the state races will determine the control of the state legislature.House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters this morning that he's not aware of any other people who plan to vote against Johnson for speaker today. Asked if he thinks there are any other"no" votes on Johnson for speaker, Scalise said,"I haven’t seen any directly. So you know, Mike’s been talking to everybody."Johnson continues to fight to keep his position as House speaker as the newly elected 119th Congress will be sworn in and is set to vote on who will fill the spot. At least one Republican has stated he will not be voting for Johnson’s re-election. NBC’s Garrett Haake reports for"TODAY."Johnson said this morning that he's not going to make a deal with his rank-and-file members in order to secure their support for his election as speaker in the new Congress. “I don’t make deals with anyone," Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill."There’s no quid pro quo here. I don’t do anything in exchange for a vote other than commit to make this institution work as effectively and efficiently as possible.” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., had suggested on former Rep. Matt Gaetz's show on America One News Network last night that Johnson should name conservative firebrandTrump just wished Johnson luck in the speaker vote today. The president-elect had publicly endorsed Johnson to continue serving in the leadership role. “Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support," Trump wrote. Trump said,"A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! — A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!”Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said President-elect Donald Trump's national security Cabinet picks might require more scrutiny following the terrorist attack in New Orleans. Talking to reporters yesterday, Gallego was asked if Trump's picks should be fast-tracked in the wake of the New Year's Day terror attack."I think in light of what you saw yesterday, we want to make sure that you have the right national security nominees," he said."Just putting someone in place doesn't necessarily mean that you're actually going to have the type of collaboration intelligence sharing that you need." Gallego did not indicate how he plans to vote on Trump's national security picks: Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Kash Patel for FBI director and Pete Hegseth for defense secretary.Asked about Trump's mass deportation plan, Gallego noted the specifics have yet to be unveiled, while adding that voters he spoke with on the campaign trail wanted guardrails on expelling migrants."They want a certain type of illegal immigrants deported," he said."What I didn't hear is, for family separations, and I didn't hear about jailing kids or anything of that nature." Gallego, who is set to become Arizona's first Latino senator, also reacted to Trump saying he would nominate Kari Lake."She's got great experience in the media, I wish her well," Gallego said of his Republican opponent in last year's Senate race. "I hope she has learned that misinformation is not appreciated by Americans," he added in a jab against Lake, who for years denied that she lost her 2022 bid to become Arizona's governor.While the House is expected to swear in all 434 of its members today, only the class of 32 newly elected or re-elected senators who won their elections in November will be sworn. Vice President Kamala Harris will be in the Capitol to swear in the senators, first on the Senate floor in alphabetical order in groups of four, and then again just for the cameras in the Old Senate Chamber one-by-one for photo-ops. At the end of the day, Republicans will have the majority, but there will only be 99 senators instead of 100. That’s because Sen.-elect Jim Justice, R-W.Va., won’t be sworn in today thanks to a quirk in how the governorship in West Virginia would be subject to a weird game of musical chairs if he were to leave his term before it ends Jan. 13.The 2024 election put Republicans on track to start the new Congress with a 53-47 majority in the Senate and a 220-215 advantage in the House. However, Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has since resigned from the House, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., was selected as national security adviser. If Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is confirmed as ambassador to the United Nations, Republicans' House majority could temporarily narrow even further, though special elections would be on the horizon for vacated seats. Senate Republicans will need the support of Democrats to overcome the 60 votes needed to break the filibuster for most legislation. Only a simple majority is needed for administration posts.Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., reiterated his staunch opposition to voting for Johnson during an appearance on former Rep. Matt Gaetz's new show on the right-wing One America News Network. "You can pull all my fingernails off, you can shove bamboo up them, you can start cutting off my fingers, I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow," Massie told Gaetz in an interview that aired last night."And you can take that to the bank." Gaetz also spoke during last night's broadcast with Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., whose votes Johnson likely needs to retain his speakership.Spartz said that while she remains open minded, she will not vote for Johnson unless she sees"concrete" changes from the speaker. "As of right now, if we don’t have concrete commitment from Speaker Johnson, I’m not going to be supporting him tomorrow, but I’m open minded," she said."I’m going to talk to some other members, and hopefully we’ll connect with him later tonight or tomorrow morning and figure out if we can actually make real changes in this institution." Boebert said that she believes Johnson can retain his post if he commits to naming Chip Roy, R-Texas, as the chairman of the Rules Committee.to maintain the speaker's gavel, as some Republican members threaten his bid.Johnson appeared to brush away concerns that his speakership was in jeopardy, telling NBC News yesterday that he expected to win on the first ballot.publicly boosted Johnson's bid on his social media platform on Monday, saying Johnson had his “Complete & Total Endorsement” and that by keeping the speaker's gavel, Johnson would help the Republican-controlled Congress implement his 2025 agenda. When the 119th Congress convenes today, the first agenda item for the House will be electing the speaker. For the past century, this was usually a straightforward process, with the majority party electing their speaker nominee on the first ballot. That changed two years ago when it took 15 ballots for now-former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to secure the gavel. While Mike Johnson, R-La., is in the chair now, his term as speaker expires when the current Congress adjourns this morning. Each new Congress is a fresh start and the speaker has to be elected again. To become speaker, a candidate needs the votes of a majority of members present, which will be 218 if all 434 members show up and vote. The 20th Amendment mandates that Congress meets at noon on the third day of January. The House will not proceed to any other business, including swearing in lawmakers, until the speaker is chosen.
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