Johnson is next to win GOP speaker nomination as Republicans push for floor vote

Johnson won the nomination after three rounds of voting on Tuesday evening, making him the fourth House Republican to be elected speaker-designate in the last three weeks. The victory comes just hours after Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) withdrew as the speaker nominee after it became evident he could not secure the 217 majority votes needed on the floor.

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Republicans started the forum with six candidates on the secret ballot, which shortly fell to five after Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) announced he would drop his bid before voting began.

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Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) was dropped during the first round, followed by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) in the second and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in the third. Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) voluntarily withdrew after the second round.

Immediately after the vote was called, Republicans conducted a closed-door roll call to see whether enough members would support Johnson’s nomination on the floor. During this vote, there were 23 absences, so it is unclear how those members will vote. Three Republicans voted present — Reps. French Hill (R-AR), Mark Amodei (R-NV), and Thomas Massie (R-KY), according to a source familiar — and the rest of the members, which makes up the vast majority of the conference, said they’d back him on the floor. Johnson can only afford to lose four votes on the floor if all members are present and voting.

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“This House Republican majority is united,” Johnson said after the vote. “I’m honored to have the support of my colleagues, and what they understand about this is this is servant leadership. We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this conference and this institution of government.”

The House is expected to reconvene at noon for votes, Johnson said.