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At noon on Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote to elect the Speaker of the House, just over a year after former-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, was ousted from the position by members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus. After weeks of failed votes, the Republican majority ultimately elected Rep. Mike Johnson, R-LA, to replace McCarthy and Johnson has served as speaker since.
However, despite Johnson entering Friday’s vote as the incumbent speaker and receiving the endorsement of President-elect Donald Trump, he has not yet been backed by all of his Republican colleagues. Importantly, the House will need to have a speaker by Jan. 6 in order to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election and to allow Trump’s inauguration.
At the moment, no other Republicans have thrown their hats in the ring to run against Johnson for speaker. However, alternatives have been discussed on the day of the vote in previous years.
In order to win the speakership, any candidate must win an outright majority, which in this instance will be 218 votes if all 434 current members of the House participate — that is one less than the 219 seats currently held by the Republicans’ slim majority. If elected, Johnson will continue to serve as speaker for the next two years.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, and Rep. Scott Perry, R-PA, are among those who have suggested that they may not vote for Johnson on Friday. Johnson recently faced backlash from fellow Republicans like Massie and Perry over his attempts to pass a bipartisan funding bill through the House in order to avoid a government shutdown. Fox News has since reported that anywhere from four to 10 Republicans could oppose Johnson in the speaker’s race as a result of the clash over government funding.
It is unlikely that any of Alabama’s Republican representatives will oppose Johnson’s bid to retain the speakership as they all supported Johnson’s December funding bills. U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-AL, has even come out publicly to announce his support for Johnson’s reelection.
On Monday, Aderholt took to his X account to back Johnson, saying, “Republicans need to hit the ground running on day one of the 119th Congress to deliver results for the American people. @realDonaldTrump is right, @SpeakerJohnson is the leader we need to usher in relief from the destructive policies of the previous Administration.”
Aderholt’s comments contrast with U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-AL, who has been more evasive when asked about his thoughts on Johnson and the House speaker vote.
“I can’t make a decision. I don’t know him that well. He’s got to work with everybody else. He doesn’t have to work with us,” Tuberville told Fox News.
Katie Britt, Alabama’s other U.S. Senator, has not publicly commented on Friday’s leadership vote. Of course, the Senate will not play any role in deciding the next Speaker of the House.
As far as the Democrats are concerned, House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, said that they will not bail out Johnson if he does not receive enough votes from his GOP colleagues. House Democrats will likely put their full support behind Jeffries on Friday — that includes Rep. Terri Sewell, who currently sits as Alabama’s lone Democratic representative.
