Senator John Thune anticipates challenges for new House Speaker Mike Johnson due to the House's slim Republican majority.
Sen. John Thune , R-S.D., the incoming Senate Majority Leader, on Friday said that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have 'a really, really tough job,' navigating a narrow majority. 'I think he has been responsive to his members but he’s got a lot of folks that are headed in different directions,' Thune said during an interview with 'Meet the Press' moderator Kristen Welker that took place as the House was selecting a new speaker.
'I mean, as you know, that with a narrow margin like that, any individual member of the House of Representatives can have a huge impact.” Thune also said that he and Johnson could have a 'strong working relationship,' even though the two men haven't worked closely before. Johnson on Friday won a second term as speaker, a role he was elected to by members of his party for the first time in October 2023 after the previous speaker, former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from the position. Johnson won with a razor-thin majority of 218-215. On the first ballot, it appeared that three members of Johnson's party had defected, casting their votes for someone else and costing Johnson the speakership. But before the vote closed and was officially tallied, Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, switched their votes to vote for Johnson. Ultimately, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote against Johnson. In a letter signed by eleven members of the House Freedom Caucus which was released after the vote, the group outlined their demands for Johnson's speakership, claiming that, 'we voted for Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House because of our steadfast support of President Trump and to ensure the timely certification of his electors. We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker’s track record over the past 15 months'
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SPEAKER MICHAEL JOHNSON JOHN THUNE GOP MAJORITY
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