119th Congress votes to keep Mike Johnson as House speaker

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - On Jan. 3, Republican Mike Johnson won reelection to the House speakership.

It took two rounds of votes for Johnson to win the speakership.

On the first vote, three republicans named other representatives as their choices for House speaker. Before the second vote, Johnson met with two of the GOP holdouts.

Their backing gave him the 218 votes he needed when the House was polled a second time.

In his speech after the win, Johnson talked about the agenda ahead, which included President-elect Donald Trump’s push for border security.

“But in recent months, we have witnessed something happening, something that’s really remarkable. A political moment in modern history. A groundswell of Americans from every state, race, and religion who now demand that we put the interests of Americans first again. And we will,” Johnson said. “This is a powerful new coalition of our country, it’s a coalition that insists that we purge the policies of ‘America last’ and we bury them in the graveyard of history’s mistakes. To that end, this Congress will renounce the status quo, and we will listen to the voices of the people. We will act quickly, and we will start by defending our nation’s borders. That’s the number one priority.”

Go here to watch Speaker Johnson’s full remarks after being elected in the 119th Congress.