Johnson had angered backbenchers by working with Democrats to pass legislation, and his victory was secured only after tense backroom negotiations that saw more than a dozen rank-and-file Republicans voice doubts over his leadership.
A chaotic 2023-25 session was marked by conservative anger in particular over the Louisiana lawmaker’s handling of spending negotiations, as fiscal hawks lined up to accuse him of being soft on the deficit.
In the end, there were only three Republican holdouts as voting began – with all 215 Democrats backing their leader Hakeem Jeffries. Johnson was able to keep his speakership ambitions alive by persuading two to change tack.
With the exception of Kentucky conservative hardliner Thomas Massie, the opposition to Johnson always looked superficial, and he had spent much of the week working the phones and holding meetings with the conservatives who had opposed his candidacy.
He appeared to assuage some lingering doubts in the hours before the vote by pledging to “reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory”.
