Republicans Select New Nominee For Speaker

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Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) became the latest Republican nominee for House speaker on Tuesday after receiving 128 votes in the House Republican Conference.

Johnson received 128 votes, while Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) received 29, according to Fox News. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was ousted earlier this month, reportedly received 43 votes.

Johnson — who will need 217 votes on the House floor to officially become speaker — was congratulated by colleagues on social media.

Jordan is the fourth congressman to be selected as the Republican nominee this month.

Following McCarthy’s ouster, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) became the nominee with 113 votes. However he withdrew his candidacy after being unable to secure enough votes to be appointed on the House floor.

Scalise’s rival, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), became the second nominee with 124 votes, but failed to receive enough votes on the House floor in three separate ballots, resulting in his nomination being revoked.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the third Republican nominee for speaker, dropped out of the race on Tuesday just hours after his nomination after former President Donald Trump expressed opposition to his candidacy. Emmer’s withdrawal then led to the nomination of Johnson.

This story is developing.