Republicans select Mike Johnson as the party's fourth nominee for House speaker

Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., the House Republican Conference's newly selected nominee for speaker, said late Wednesday his party was "ready to govern" as members rallied around him.

Following a closed-door conference meeting that Fox News Digital confirmed was meant to ensure he could reach the 217 votes needed to win the speakership, Johnson said he was "honored" to have the support of his colleagues and that he viewed their roles in Congress as "servant leadership."

"We're going to serve the people of this country. We're going to restore their faith in this Congress, in this institution of government," Johnson said.

"We're going to govern well. We're going to do what's right by the people, and believe people are going to reward that next year," he added.

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

In the 118th Congress, which sunsets on Jan. 3, 2025, Republican reps currently have control over the House by a narrow 221-212 majority.

The House comprises a total of 435 seats, with 212 currently held by Democrats and 222 by Republicans. The 2022 midterm elections marked the return of Republican control, the first time since the 115th Congressional lineup.

Additionally, six non-voting members represent the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

The speaker is the leader of the House and one of the most powerful positions in the federal government, placing the representative second in line of succession after the Vice President to assume presidency if necessary. 

The Majority and Minority Leaders, chosen by members of the House, advocate for their respective parties on the House floor.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

There are very few actual constitutional barriers to becoming House Speaker, which is why each leadership election usually sees at least one to two members cast symbolic votes for figures outside of Congress such as former President Donald Trump or others.

The Constitution does not explicitly outline the duties of a speaker nor their eligibility, only calling for the House of Representatives to choose one as a body.

Historically the speaker has been a member of Congress and a member of the majority party.

However, the latter is not an explicit guideline either —  theoretically, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries could be speaker if a handful of Republicans voted with every House Democrat to elect him. Though it’s technically allowed, it’s still a long-shot due to the political risk of crossing the aisle for such a significant vote.

Ultimately, the speaker is voted in by a House-wide majority vote. It’s not immediately clear when the next vote will be, but the earliest it could be held is Tuesday after House Republicans’ closed-door election to find their candidate.

Speaker pro tempore of the House Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., arrives for a House Republican Conference speaker of the House election meeting in Longworth Building on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

There are several other House lawmakers named on a list behind Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., to serve in that temporary role should he step down for any reason.

The names on that list and even how many there are in total are a secret. They are only revealed if and when there is a vacancy in the role of speaker.

A law passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks aimed at ensuring continuity of government mandates the speaker to make the list upon their election.

But the longer chaos continues in the House without a new speaker, the more likely Americans are to find out the next person named after McHenry.

McHenry, who has been firm in his belief that his role is solely for running the election for the next speaker, told reporters last week that if House lawmakers tried to push him to move legislation anyway, he told them, “You’d find out who’s next on the list.”

From left, Reps. George Santos, R-N.Y., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., are seen on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. George Santos , R-N.Y., joked about a potential bid to be the next speaker of the House Tuesday after Majority Whip Tom Emmer dropped out of the race.

"Santos for Speaker?" he wrote in a post on X with a poll for users to select between two options: "Yes" and "yes."

The Republican conference is set to hold a vote to select its fourth nominee for House speaker later Tuesday, but no vote is expected to go to the full chamber until at least Wednesday.

There are currently five candidates vying for the job.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, (left) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (right) (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., could get back into the mix as House Republicans hunt for a new leader.

Two sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that a plan was being floated to reinstate McCarthy as speaker and elevate Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to an assistant speaker role.

Jordan was the House GOP’s second speaker-designate, but he was forced out of the race after failing three chamber-wide votes and then being voted out of the position via anonymous ballot in a Republican conference meeting.

When asked about the idea, McCarthy simply told reporters, “Some members are talking."

Jordan ignored a question by Fox News Digital about whether the plan was actively being discussed.

Republicans are huddling again now to hear from their speaker candidates before an election via anonymous ballot to select their fourth speaker-designate in three weeks.

Fox News' Houston Keene and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

After a dramatic day in the search for a House speaker, GOP Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson emerged as a leading contender for the nomination Tuesday, along with several other candidates.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's bid for the speaker's gavel collapsed shortly after he secured the most votes in a conference meeting, and he removed himself from the race after another vote within the chamber made it clear he lacked enough votes among Republicans to win a majority on the floor.

Johnson has been in politics since 2015 when he was elected to the state House, where he stayed until 2017.

The son of a firefighter, Johnson was elected to Congress in the 2016 election and serves on the House Judiciary and Armed Services Committees.

Johnson is currently in his second term as the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, putting him in a leadership position that largely stays out of the limelight.

OPINION

The speaker's race may get worse before it gets better

Here in America, our power struggles happen out in the open.

Amidst all the hand-wringing and outrage about the ill-timed replacement of the Republican Speaker of the House, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture: this is what freedom looks like.

It isn’t easy. It isn’t fast. And it often isn’t pretty. Sometimes it’s a knock-down drag-out power struggle. That’s what governance from the bottom up looks like. Our Founders knew that. And they chose it anyway.  

That’s because the orderly, top-down power structure of dictators like Chinese president Xi Jinping comes at a huge cost to the people. Here in America, our power struggles happen out in the open, at least mostly in the open. Our representative republic can be cumbersome and chaotic, but only because we allow so many different voices to engage in the political process.

The battle playing out in the halls of Congress is a feature of our system, not a bug. We can disagree with the actions of those who precipitated this vacuum of leadership at such a critical time. I disagree with their strategy even as I sympathize with their grievances. Nonetheless, I’m grateful the Speaker’s race is competitive – at least on the Republican side.

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

FIRST ON FOX: Ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., pushed to kill a move that would have fast-tracked the House GOP conference getting a new speaker, two sources told Fox News Digital.

After Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., dropped out of the race, one of the options for moving forward that was floated in the conference was suspending House GOP rules to make GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., Speaker-designate, bypassing another election.

The first source said McCarthy had an “outburst” in the closed-door conference meeting and said, “That’s not how you elect a speaker.”

The second source confirmed McCarthy voiced his objection but noted that others in conference also did not support skirting the rules.

Fox News Digital reached out to a McCarthy spokesman for comment but did not immediately hear back.

House Republicans are holding another candidate forum at 6pm where six hopefuls will make their case for the speaker’s gavel. A GOP-wide vote is expected shortly after.

The number of Republicans vying to be the next House speaker is back up to six with the addition of Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and Roger Williams, R-Texas.

The three join Reps. Mark Green, R-Tenn., Mike Johnson, R-La., and Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who announced their candidacies after Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., dropped his candidacy.

GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., listed all six candidates in a post on X ahead of the planned 6:00 p.m. ET candidate forum.

A vote is expected to be held immediately following the forum.

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., attends a news conference in the U.S. Capitol on border security, government funding, and other issues, on Friday, September 29, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., has entered the race for House speaker following the exit of Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.

Emmer dropped out of the running after facing staunch opposition from a number of his fellow Republicans, as well as former President Donald Trump.

Green's entry follows that of Reps. Mike Johnson, R-La., and Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and comes just before Republicans' fourth speaker candidate forum at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Members intend to hold a vote on a new candidate immediately after the forum.

Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

JULIA NIKHINSON/AFP via Getty Images

House Republicans are holding a fourth candidate forum to find a House speaker nominee after Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., dropped out of the race amid a seemingly insurmountable hill of opposition.

GOP lawmakers are huddling at 6pm on Tuesday evening to try to find a new speaker-designate, and intend to hold a vote immediately after.

Emmer was chosen out of a field of seven GOP candidates on Tuesday morning but ducked out that same afternoon, a sign of the chaos that has paralyzed Congress.

At least two Republicans have stepped into the power vacuum so far — Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La.

Former President Donald Trump attends his civil business fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, in New York. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/Pool Photo via AP)

Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted House Majority Leader Tom Emmer as a "globalist RINO," warning that electing him speaker of the House "would be a tragic mistake." 

Emmer won the Republican nomination to be the next speaker of the House on Tuesday. Emmer is the third nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

But even as he secured the majority of votes in the House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, slammed his nomination, and urged Republicans not to vote for him on the House floor.

"I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors," Trump posted on his Truth Social Tuesday.

Trump endorsed Jordan, R-Ohio, to serve as speaker of the House earlier this month."RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them," Trump said. "He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

A "RINO" stands for "Republican In Name Only." 

Trump said Emmer "fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me."

"He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters," Trump said.

"I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win?"

Trump warned that the Republican Party "cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are." "Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!" Trump posted.

House Republicans’ newly-minted speaker-designate Tom Emmer, the current House Majority Whip, intends to keep the GOP speaker fight behind closed doors until at least 217 say they will vote for him on the House floor, two sources told Fox News Digital.

The House GOP conference is now in recess until 4pm.

Meanwhile, Emmer is inside the conference meeting room still speaking with holdouts, Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital.

“He’s gonna continue to talk to some of the folks,” Barr, who voted for Emmer, said of his impression of what comes next.

Emmer won a majority of the Republican conference vote to become the GOP speaker nominee on Tuesday morning.

However, a subsequent roll call vote on whether members would support Emmer on the House floor resulted in at least 25 Republicans dissenting.

The vote was followed by more discussion, primarily between Emmer and the holdouts.Barr said Emmer had “those individuals who either voted present or didn't vote or voted for someone else, to come forward and address the issues that they had so he could, you know, interact with them and answer their questions and whatnot.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., leaves the Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

At least Twenty-five Republicans voted against their new speaker nominee in a conference roll call vote --- suggesting he could face significant GOP opposition in a looming House floor vote, where only a few defections can be spared, a source told Fox News Digital.

House Republicans voted for Majority Whip Tom Emmer to be their nominee after multiple rounds of voting that eventually saw Emmer secure a simple majority. It will be eventually followed by a vote on the House floor where, if all Democrats vote for someone else, Emmer will only be able to afford a handful of Republicans defections.

In the roll call vote in the conference, however, at least 25 Republicans voted either present or for another candidate -- including former nominee Jim Jordan, who had been the pick of conservative Republicans.

It suggests that Emmer's nomination may not be able to rally the overwhelming majority of Republicans behind in when it goes to the House floor.

Fox News' Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Rep. Tom Emmer is on the cusp of securing the Republican nomination to be the next House speaker after securing close to the number of votes needed to win the nomination.

Emmer won 107 votes in the fourth round of voting. Rep. Byron Donalds and Rep. Kevin Hern both dropped out after securing the joint-least votes, picking up 25 each. Hern was eliminated and Donalds dropped out voluntarily before the tally was finalized, a source familiar and multiple lawmakers told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Mike Johnson picked up 56 votes, and four Republicans voted for other candidates.

This is the third time Republicans have moved to elect a speaker nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Since then they have tried to elect both Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.

This is the second longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856

Rep. Tom Emmer has gained additional votes in his quest to become the GOP nominee for speaker -- with Rep. Austin Scott dropping out of contention after the third round of voting.

Emmer won 100 votes in the third ballot for the Republicans' speaker nominee. Rep. Austin Scott drops out after receiving the fewest votes. He received 12 votes.

The vote tally is

Emmer - 100

Johnson - 43

Donalds - 32

Hern - 26

Scott - 12

Present - 3

Other - 3

Rep. Tom Emmer has won the second straight round of voting, with Rep. Jack Bergman dropping out after picking up the fewest votes.

The vote tally for the second vote is as follows:

Rep. Emmer - 90

Rep. Johnson - 37

Rep. Donalds - 33

Rep. Hern - 31

Rep. Scott - 14

Rep. Bergman - 7

Present - 2

Others - 3

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., arrives as Republicans meet to decide who to nominate to be the new House speaker, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Majority Whip Tom Emmer is the clear frontrunner in the race to be the next House Republican nominee for speaker -- after winning by far the most votes in the first round of voting.

Emmer won 78 votes in the first round on Tuesday morning, with the closest second candidate -- Rep. Byron Donalds -- securing just 29.

It’s likely to take several rounds of voting – a candidate must win a conference majority to be named speaker-designate under current House GOP Conference rules.

If no candidate manages to win a majority during a given round, the person with the least amount of votes is withdrawn from the race and another round is held. On Tuesday Rep. Pete Sessions dropped out after only securing eight votes.

The election comes three weeks after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the top job, the first time in history the House of Representatives removed their leader in the middle of a congressional term.

Fox News' Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, talks to reporters as he arrives to the Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Pete Sessions is out of the running for the GOP speaker's nomination after losing the first round of closed-door voting.

Sessions picked up eight votes, coming last out of the field of seven.

Other tallies were.

Rep. Emmer -- 78

Rep. Donalds -- 29

Rep. Johnson -- 34

Rep. Hern -- 27

Rep. Scott -- 18

Rep. Bergman -- 16

Others -- 5

Present 1.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY, says that the voting for the House Republicans' next nominee to take the speaker's gavel is underway.

"We are now entering ballot number one of the @HouseGOP organizing conference for the purpose of electing a Speaker," Stefanik said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This is the third time Republicans have moved to elect a speaker nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Since then they have tried to elect both Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.

This is the second longest period the House has ever gone without a Speaker. It lacked a Speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., left, confers with Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, as House Republicans meet to work on a path to elect a new speaker at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republican Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer, R-Ala., is dropping out of the race for House Speaker.

He told GOP lawmakers during their closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning where they are electing a new candidate to put up for a House-wide vote for the gavel.

There are now seven Republicans jostling for the speakership right now: Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La.; Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla.; Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich.; Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga.; and Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas.

It’s likely to take several rounds of voting – a candidate must win a conference majority to be named speaker-designate under current House GOP Conference rules.

If no candidate manages to win a majority during a given round, the person with the least amount of votes is withdrawn from the race and another round is held.

The election comes three weeks after McCarthy’s ouster from the top job, the first time in history the House of Representatives removed their leader in the middle of a congressional term.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., center, and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., right, the House GOP deputy whip, arrive as GOP members meet behind closed doors to try to elect a new speaker of the House, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

A moderate House Democrat is offering to help Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., get closer to the speakership in a chamber-wide vote in exchange for certain concessions.

“The dysfunction in the House is a national and global security issue,” Rep. Dean Phillips, R-Minn., wrote on social media platform X.

“I would sit-out the Speaker vote if Tom Emmer will fund our government at negotiated levels, bring Ukraine and Israel aid bills to the floor, and commit to rules changes to make Congress work for the people,” he added.

Phillips, who has floated a primary challenge to President Biden in 2024, previously stopped short of crossing party lines to endorse Emmer for the top House job in an earlier post.

“It would be great to have a Minnesotan serve as Speaker of the House,” Phillips wrote on Sunday.“

"If [Majority Whip] Tom Emmer becomes the GOP nominee, I invite him to work with Democrats on a bipartisan path to end the nonsense and reform the House so it starts working for people. It’s time.”

Emmer is one of eight House Republicans running for speaker this morning.

The U.S. Capitol is seen on Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

House Republicans are hoping that the third attempt to nominate, and elect, a House speaker will be successful -- after two failed efforts in recent weeks.

The GOP conference will again vote by secret ballot today on a nominee for speaker. it is expected that Republicans will go multiple rounds behind closed doors to bring down the list of eight candidates before heading to the floor.

The one thing Republicans want to avoid is holding a floor vote for Speaker and failing yet again -- a sentiment they expressed in prior efforts.

However, Fox is told it may take a round or two on the floor before it is concluded -- if it is concluded.

Therefore, it’s possible there could be a lengthy meeting today as Republicans try to work this out behind closed doors first.

In terms of a timeline, the earliest the House could vote on Speaker would be early afternoon.

The task is tall, and like with many things in the House, it is about the math.

The winner needs an outright majority of all members voting for someone by name. So that means they can only lose four GOP votes.

Republicans ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks ago today. Since then they have tried to elect both Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan.

This is the second longest period the House has ever gone without a Speaker. It lacked a Speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, says former Speaker Kevin McCarthy should have never been deposed, blasting the handful of Republicans who voted with Democrats to do so earlier in October.

Johnson made the comments during an appearance on Fox Business with host Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday.

"It's really unfortunate that we're here," Johnson said. "Kevin McCarthy should have never been deposed from the speaker seat--then we should have gotten Steve Scalise if that wasn't gonna work, and of course, Jim Jordan from Ohio would have made a good choice."

There are now eight House Republicans who are running for the speakership, and the party will meet Monday morning to decide on a nominee.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, says House Republicans should not be allowed to go home until the party has elected a new speaker.

Sessions, who is running for speaker himself, made the comments during a Tuesday morning appearance on Fox News. He says the GOP caucus will meet at 9 a.m. ET and vote repeatedly, eliminating the lowest vote earner each round "until we get to the winner."

That process will only result in a Republican nominee for speaker, however, and there is no guarantee that the nominee will have the required 217 votes to win the office in a floor vote. Both previous nominees to replace Kevin McCarthy, Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio, failed to secure the 217 votes.

There are several other House lawmakers named on a list behind Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., to serve in that temporary role should he step down for any reason.

The names on that list and even how many there are in total are a secret. They are only revealed if and when there is a vacancy in the role of speaker.

A law passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks aimed at ensuring continuity of government mandates the speaker to make the list upon their election.

But the longer chaos continues in the House without a new speaker, the more likely Americans are to find out the next person named after McHenry.

McHenry, who has been firm in his belief that his role is solely for running the election for the next speaker, told reporters last week that if House lawmakers tried to push him to move legislation anyway, he told them, “You’d find out who’s next on the list.”

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report

Who are the 8 Republicans running for speaker of the House?

House Republicans voted on Friday to remove Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as their nominee for speaker following three votes on the House floor in which he was unable to garner enough votes to secure the post.

Now, at least nine Republicans have thrown their hats in the ring.

Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., was one of the first GOP lawmakers to put his hat in the ring on Friday afternoon.

Retired Marine Corps Gen. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., also officially entered the race. He told Fox News Digital that he did so after fielding calls from "across the spectrum" of the GOP asking him to run.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., who was named by GOP lawmakers on the House floor during Jordan's bid, is also running for speaker, his office told Fox News Digital.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is also in the running, as well as Reps. Mike Johnson, R-La., Austin Scott, R-Ga., Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and Gary Palmer, R-Ala.

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., had also joined the race but dropped out Monday evening.

The House of Representatives has been without a speaker since Oct. 3, when Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted by all Democrats and eight Republicans — a first in United States history.

The House of Representatives has been without a speaker since Oct. 3, when Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted by all Democrats and eight Republicans — a first in United States history.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has been serving as speaker pro tempore, also known as the interim speaker of the House.

The House of Representatives is facing uncharted waters in the absence of a speaker, and little precedent in terms of the powers the interim speaker holds.

The scope of McHenry’s powers as interim speaker are limited. A speaker pro tempore can only hold a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives if it is a vote for the next speaker of the House.

A source familiar also told Fox News Digital that as interim speaker, McHenry has administrative oversight and power, such as power on office space. That was evidenced on his first day on the job.

McHenry issued an order to evict former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., from her private Capitol office — his first move as speaker pro tempore.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report

What is the longest time Congress has gone without a speaker?

The last time the House speaker was vacant was a century ago in 1923. At the time, Republicans in the 68th Congressional lineup lost 77 House seats and their lead over their Democrat counterparts plunged from 171 to 18. The vacancy lasted three days.

The Republican Party was divided between various factions, including progressive and conservative wings, and they struggled to agree on a candidate for the speakership.

Ultimately, the deadlock was broken when Frederick H. Gillett, a Republican from Massachusetts, was re-elected as Speaker of the House on Sept. 18, 1923 in the ninth round of voting. Progressive Republicans — a faction of the party at the time that advocated for more government to improve society — opposed Gillett in the first eight rounds.

Gillett served as Speaker for the remainder of the 68th Congress and continued in the role through the 69th Congress.

Prior to that, in the mid-1850s, lawmakers set an enduring record for the longest speaker vote, stretching over nearly two months and involving 133 ballots before ultimately selecting Massachusetts Rep. Nathaniel Banks, a Republican and Union general during the Civil War, who hailed from Massachusetts as well.

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

House Republicans to hold 3rd internal vote to find speaker candidate 3 weeks after McCarthy ouster

House Republicans are preparing vote for a speaker candidate for a third time after their past two nominees to lead the chamber dropped out of the race.

GOP lawmakers will gather behind closed doors at 9 a.m. on Tuesday for an election via anonymous secret ballot.

There remain nine Republicans jostling for the speakership right now: Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La.; GOP Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer, R-Ala.; Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla.; Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich.; Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga.; Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas; and Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa.

The vote comes after the candidates made their pitch to the GOP conference on Monday night at a candidate forum.

The front-runner right now appears to be Emmer, who has been endorsed by ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Other candidates going into the election with several endorsements under their belt are Donalds and Bergman.

Read more from Fox News' Liz Elkind

POLITICS

House speaker 'chaos' could benefit Dems as race stretches into new week

The race for House speaker is back to the drawing board after Rep. Jim Jordan failed to win the gavel, which shows a power vacuum that appears to be benefiting Democrats.

Republicans' race to nominate and elect a new speaker of the House has created a power vacuum that may benefit Democrats as the vacancy spills into its 20th day.

There are now nine candidates officially in the running to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., but as the GOP caucus mulls its decision, there remain questions about how long the debate will rage – and if that means the party could lose voters in 2024.

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio failed to garner enough votes during his third round of floor-wide votes on Friday, sending party members back to the drawing board in an effort to end a stalemate. Twenty-five Republicans voted against him, leaving him short of the 217 votes needed to secure a win. The slim GOP majority and unified Democrat opposition gives any speaker candidate little wiggle room for naysayers within his or her own party.

Patrick McHenry, who is currently serving as interim speaker, said last week that Republicans will hold another forum Monday on the speakership runs, followed by a likely floor vote Tuesday. The race continues to be cloaked in uncertainty as candidates jockey as the strongest politician to pass muster and garner enough support to secure the speakership.

"Republican chaos" on the Hill could dash the GOP's hopes of holding onto the House in the next election cycle, but the party could save itself with the election of a new speaker, according to longtime Democrat strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

"If a speaker can be elected, default avoided and defense budgets restored in the face of international crises, the chances of Democratic takeover will be reduced," Sheinkopf told Fox News Digital.

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) speaks to reporters as he departs a House Republican Caucus at the U.S. Capitol October 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told reporters Monday evening he believed the House would have a new speaker by Tuesday night.

Speaking outside the closed-door Republican meeting, Bacon wouldn't say which speaker candidate he was backing, but that each of the candidates was making "great cases" for their respective speakerships.

He added that the GOP conference needed to make sure that whatever candidate it supports needed to have the 217 votes necessary to become speaker before going to the full House for a vote.

Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., became the first of the candidates to drop his speaker bid earlier Monday evening, leaving eight still in the running.

Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.

POLITICS

House Freedom Caucus demands Congress stay in session until new speaker is selected

Members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding that Congress stay in session until a new speaker is elected, as the House of Representatives enters its fourth week since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

FIRST ON FOX: Members of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding that Congress stay in session until a new speaker is elected, as the House of Representatives enters its fourth week since the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

House Republicans on Friday, after three rounds of failed votes on the floor, voted to remove Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, as its nominee for speaker of the House. Jordan is a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

House Republicans are set to meet Monday night to discuss a path forward and hear from the speaker candidates. The next earliest floor vote on that prospective nominee likely would not be until Tuesday.

But members of the House Freedom Caucus are urging House leadership to keep Republicans in Washington until the next speaker is selected, saying "no speaker, no recess."

"The House Republican Conference must remain in Washington D.C. until a new speaker of the House is elected," the House Freedom Caucus said in a statement Monday. "Republican leadership should have kept Republicans in Washington over the weekend. Our work is not done."

Members of the House Freedom Caucus said Republicans are "starting at ground zero after Jim Jordan, arguably one of the most popular Republicans in the country, was rejected by House Republicans." 

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced Monday it would begin displaying a public projection on the side of the National Gallery of Art near the U.S. Capitol in an effort to highlight Republicans' "20th straight day of paralyzing the People’s House." 

"Welcome to the GOP clown show," the projection says as it cycles through photos of a clown, along with Reps. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who dropped his bid to become speaker last week.

The group's criticism comes as House Republicans continue to battle over who will replace McCarthy as speaker following his ouster nearly three weeks ago.

“Americans want strong and steady leadership, not this never-ending MAGA circus," DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.

"Instead of honking at each other and jumping through hoops to find the most extreme speaker, House Republicans need to get their act together and join President Biden and Democrats who remain focused on delivering for hardworking families at home and standing up for our allies abroad. Enough with the GOP clown show," she added..

The projection will be on display on the side of the National Gallery of Art’s East Building, facing Pennsylvania Avenue NW starting tonight at 8 p.m. ET Monday evening.

POLITICS

Byron Donalds responds to AOC's 'experience' jab: 'She doesn't know what she's talking about'

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., clapped back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's, D-N.Y., on Monday after she undermined the congressman's experience to be the next speaker of the House.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., clapped back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's, D-N.Y., comments she made Sunday with MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan.

"Before I got to Congress, I spent 20 years in the financial industry, something that leadership here on Capitol Hill definitely needs," Donalds said on Fox's "The Story" with Martha MacCallum on Monday.

"Number two, I spent four years in the legislature in Florida. I chair two committees there, and number three, since being here on Capitol Hill, I've worked intimately with members of our leadership team and members all through the conference, both appropriators and authorizers to get some of our biggest pieces of legislation accomplished this Congress," he said.

He added, "So, with all due respect to miss Ocasio-Cortez, she doesn't know what she's talking about. And if the Democrats are this concerned, I would tell my colleagues see what happens if I become your speaker."

Ocasio-Cortez jabbed the Republican rep on Sunday, arguing that "he's only served one term" in the House and submitted "false evidence" during a Biden impeachment hearing. 

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Gary Gershoff/Getty Images

Former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming blamed the ties between ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and former President Trump for the House's disarray as the chamber struggles to elect a new speaker.

"I think what you're seeing right now and among the Republicans in the House is a direct result of the decisions that Kevin McCarthy made to embrace Donald Trump, to embrace the most radical and extreme members of our party, to elevate them," Cheney said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"So it's not a surprise that we are where we are, but it's a disgrace, and it's an embarrassment," she said.

"And there certainly are serious people among the Republicans," Cheney continued. "I think it's important to be not be an election denier."

Cheney, a representative from 2017 to 2023 and a vocal critic of Trump, was removed from her leadership role in the House Republican Conference led by McCarthy in 2021. 

Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

(Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

Donald Trump is running for president again in 2024.

But there was a brief period earlier this month when the former president was also running for speaker.

Only one person has ever served as both House speaker and president. But certainly not at the same time. James Polk was elected House speaker by his colleagues from 1835 to 1839 while he was a congressman from Tennessee. Later, from 1845 to 1849, Polk served as president.

It was always doubtful Trump would ever become speaker of the House. It was a mathematical impossibility for the former president to win the speakership on the House floor. But amid an astonishing leadership vacuum atop the legislative branch of the United States, it should come as no surprise that some Republicans – and even former President Trump himself – were shopping him as a potential successor to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla., advocated for a Trump speakership early on.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, quickly announced that he would "nominate Donald J. Trump for speaker of the House" just after the House stripped McCarthy of his gavel earlier this month. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also pushed Trump for the job.

"I support President Trump because he has a four-year proven record as president," said Greene, noting she would nominate Trump in the House Republican Conference. "We’re talking about an interim speakership. And I think President Trump is exactly the right outsider for this." 

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

Representative Gary Palmer, a Republican from Alabama. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

EXCLUSIVE:  One of the nine House Republicans running for speaker is out with a list of five commitments he is calling on his fellow contenders for the gavel to commit to.

Republican Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer, R-Ala., released the policy outline less than an hour before House GOP lawmakers are retreating behind closed doors to hear from the speaker candidates.

That includes a commitment to fund the government with 12 individual spending bills by June 30; forcing "real spending cuts" and not "budget gimmicks;" refusing to pass any more short-term stopgap funding bills; giving members 72 hours to read a bill before it hits the House floor; and, perhaps most critically – making sure the GOP conference is on the same page before holding a House-wide vote.

"Congress has been kicking the can down the road since before I was elected. We don’t need a person or a personality, we need a plan," Palmer said.

"The American people deserve a Republican Conference that is unified, transparent, and committed to the job. Before we vote tomorrow, every candidate should commit to these principles."

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The House speaker’s role is to serve as the leader of the House and to preside over its order of business.

The speaker controls the chamber’s legislative agenda and is responsible for scheduling bills for debate and referring bills to committee.

The speaker will also assign committee roles to members, although they themselves will not sit on any committees. 

Additionally, they step in behind the vice president in the presidential line of succession, meaning they are second in line to the presidency if the vice president is unable to serve.

Traditionally, the speaker is chosen from among the elected House members, but the Constitution does not explicitly say the speaker has to be a lawmaker. However, the potential speaker does have to be nominated by a member of the House to be considered for the gavel.

The House is facing uncharted waters in the absence of a speaker after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the role earlier this month. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has been serving as speaker pro tempore, but his powers are limited.

Fox News' Houston Keene and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) leaves a closed-door House Republican meeting at the U.S. Capitol on October 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Rep. Byron Donalds , R-Fla., scored a big endorsement for his campaign to be House Speaker on Monday evening when House Freedom Caucus Policy Chair Chip Roy, R-Texas, endorsed him.

“Over the past 10 months, Byron and I worked with Speaker McCarthy to take significant steps to reopen the legislative process, pass the strongest border security bill this body has ever produced, work to cut spending through the Limit, Save, Grow Act, move individual appropriations bills, pass a conservative defense reauthorization bill, and more,” Roy said in a new statement.

“Byron is a strong communicator backed by a conservative voting record who has simultaneously played a central role in bringing together members from across the Republican conference to advance conservative priorities. To that end, I plan to hold Speaker Donalds just as accountable to those priorities as I did Speaker McCarthy, just as Byron would expect me to do.”

Those priorities, according to Roy, are to cut spending, pass House Republicans’ border security bill, and end the “woke cancer” at the Pentagon, among others.

It comes an hour and a half before nine Republicans, including Donalds, will make their case to the GOP conference at a closed-door candidate forum.

OPINION

House speaker fight: Republicans, it's time to unite around a plan, not a person

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives continue to fail in their efforts to elect a new speaker. Here's a plan to get it done and move forward.

For House Republicans to unite and move forward, reason must prevail over faction. Some refer to factions within the political parties as "tribalism." The goal is really to diminish the merits of alternative policy perspectives. The reality is that both Republicans and Democrats form diverse coalitions in an attempt to contain America’s diverse political views within two political parties. By definition, each party is effectively its own form of coalition government.

Now, Republicans confront the reality of having far more government than we can afford as we debate the role of Speaker of the House. Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrestled for years to build the coalitions necessary to govern the narrow majority. Nevertheless, there were fatal flaws in his coalition, and it collapsed once a small group became convinced that the commitment to break the status quo on appropriations was either insincere or no longer on a path to being achieved. While their motion to vacate was foolish in my opinion, saying their action was purely personal or without merit willfully avoids the principled objection to failure.

As I and many others cautioned, the motion to vacate without a plan for what would happen next has in fact been disastrous. Frankly, the idea that their risky action to vacate the chair could somehow result in a more conservative coalition that would address the broken appropriations process, prevented Jim Jordan from restoring unity with a similar coalition to Speaker McCarthy’s. This, of course, exposed other factions who had other objectives with this crisis.

Now, my friend and colleague, Rep. Mike Flood from Nebraska, has a new proposal to restore unity to the Republican Party’s narrow majority in Congress. He is a good man, whose intentions in my estimation are pure. However, as I began, reason must prevail over faction. Unfortunately, Flood’s proposal formalizes the alternative outcome. 

From left: Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; and Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla.

Republicans are meeting Monday evening to hear from the nine GOP lawmakers pitching themselves for the top job in the House of Representatives.

The candidate who gets a majority of the conference vote in a secret ballot Tuesday morning will become House Republicans’ next speaker designate but still has to win at least 217 votes to clinch the gavel.

The No. 3 House Republican, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., is the highest-ranking GOP lawmaker running for speaker. Emmer touted those credentials in a Saturday letter to colleagues, emphasizing Republicans’ legislative wins and reminding them that he helped the GOP win its razor-thin majority as chair of House Republicans’ campaign arm.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., rolled out a broad but straightforward mandate for his would-be speakership. In a statement Friday, he said, "My sole focus will be securing our border, funding our government responsibly, advancing a conservative vision for the House of Representatives and the American people, and expanding our Republican majority."

Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern handed out a memo to GOP lawmakers on Monday emphasizing the work he’s done to prepare for his bid for speaker, including contacting every member of the conference over the weekend "to hear about their priorities."

Vice GOP Conference Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republican Policy Committee Chairman Gary Palmer, R-Ala., are, like Emmer, members of leadership who are throwing their hats in the ring for speaker.

Four House Republicans who have mostly kept out of the spotlight in this Congress are also jumping into the race — Reps. Jack Bergman, R-Mich.; Austin Scott, R-Ga.; Pete Sessions, R-Texas; and Dan Meuser, R-Pa.