Speaker Mike Johnson Faces Potential Loss In House Speaker Vote

U.S. House of Representatives meet to vote on new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington Mike Johnson

During the recent House speaker election, Speaker Mike Johnson faced a setback as he lost support from at least three GOP members. Rep. Keith Self, a member of the Freedom Caucus, voted for Byron Donalds instead of Johnson. Reps. Thomas Massie and Ralph Norman also did not back Johnson, opting for Reps. Tom Emmer and Jim Jordan, respectively.

In addition to the three GOP votes for other candidates, several Republicans initially abstained from voting. Rep. Victoria Spartz, a prior holdout, ultimately voted for Johnson. Donalds, who was approached by lawmakers about running for speaker, declined the opportunity.