Trump-backed Mike Johnson elected House speaker after 22 days - live

Rep Mike Johnson has become the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker, following a disastrous three weeks in the lower chamber.

Mr Johnson is now the fourth GOP nominee in just two weeks, coming after Mr Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.

Speaking to reporters after he secured the nomination, Mr Johnson brushed off the chaos as Republicans clamour to find a new speaker.

Robert Costa of CBS News wrote on X on Wednesday that “Johnson was deeply involved in efforts to keep Trump in power starting immediately after 2020 election. … I know because I spent months reporting on that period and he was part of letters and behind-scenes efforts with key outside groups”.

“Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party,” Mr Trump wrote.

“Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves. Congratulations to Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), Charles J. ‘Chuck’ Fleischmann (Tennessee), Mark Green (Tennessee), & Roger Williams (Texas), & the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana),” he added.

Republicans nominate Mike Johnson in fourth attempt to fill speaker's chair

On Tuesday, as Republicans convened for a round of votes to pick their next nominee for speaker, Rep Jared Moskowitz, an outspoken Democrat from Florida, passed by the conclave. One reporter asked if he was running for speaker and he joked that he might be able to get some votes.

Within hours, the House GOP nominated Majority Whip Tom Emmer only for him to face a revolt and summarily drop out.

But joking aside, Mr Moskowitz, who has also criticised the White House for not condemning antisemitism forcefully enough, told The Independent that the inability of the House to act on providing aid to Israel or Ukraine could hurt America from a national security standpoint.

“If the Senate sends over the package, and we don’t have a speaker and our number one ally is not able to get the help that they need in their time of crisis, it’s definitely a national security issue,” Mr Moskowitz said.

Earlier this year, Democrats roundly mocked Republicans for their inability to make Kevin McCarthy speaker of the House, even bringing in popcorn. But on Tuesday, officially three weeks since they joined eight Republicans led by Rep Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to depose Mr McCarthy, they are exasperated at the inability to get work done.

It came just over 24 hours after he sycophantically posted online thanking Mr Trump for an apparent endorsement. Mr Trump was asked on Monday if he would endorse Mr Emmer for House Speaker, despite the latter not always having been “his biggest fan”.

“He’s my biggest fan now because he called me yesterday and told me ‘I’m your biggest fan’,” Mr Trump responded, adding: “We’re looking at a lot of people and I’m trying to stay out of that as much as possible.

“I’ve always gotten along with him, I’ve gotten along with all of them. [There’s] a lot of good people.”

Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s speaker bid lasted only four hours before he dropped out in the face of steadfast opposition from a number of right-wing members of the House Republican conference.

Mr Emmer won the nomination on Tuesday for speaker after five rounds of internal voting, but it quickly became clear that he wouldn’t reach the 217 votes needed on the floor of the House.

Rep Mike Johnson is now the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker – becoming the fourth nominee in just two weeks as the Republican party remains wracked by infighting and an inability to unite around a candidate.

With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.

Speaking to reporters after he secured the nomination, Mr Johnson brushed off the chaos as Republicans clamour to find a new speaker.

“Democracy is messy sometimes, but it is our system,” he said. “This House Republican majority is united.”

Pundits supportive of Donald Trump, such as his former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, had been pushing the notion that Rep Tom Emmer is a Washington insider with no real connection to the MAGA movement.

“Tom Emmer, the biggest never-Trumper in the House, a guy who hates Donald Trump,” Mr Bannon said on his War Room podcast on Friday.

“Here’s the probability Tom Emmer is going to be speaker – zero,” he said.

Islamophobic hard-right influencer Laura Loomer posted that Mr Emmer is “one of the worst members of Congress” and “essentially a Democrat”.

Rep Mike Johnson has become the latest lawmaker to secure the GOP nomination for the next House speaker, following a disastrous three weeks in the lower chamber.

The Louisiana congressman was picked by his party on Tuesday night, just hours after the third nominee Tom Emmer abruptly pulled out.

He is now the fourth GOP nominee in just two weeks, coming after Mr Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

With just 128 votes in a secret closed-door session, he – like the previous three nominees – still has a major uphill battle to secure the 217 votes needed to take the gavel.

As the fourth GOP nominee for House speaker in just two weeks, Mike Johnson faces an uphill battle to take the gavel