Breaking Christian News

It's Opening Day for Congress: Mike Johnson Elected Speaker

Michelle London : Jan 3, 2025
CBN News

UPDATE: 2:30ET- Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House with 218 votes.

(Washington, DC) — [CBN News] This new year comes with a new Congress. It's Opening Day on Capitol Hill after Republicans won majorities in both chambers, and they've got a lot of business to handle before President-elect Donald Trump takes his second oath of office in 17 days. (Screengrab image: via C-SPAN)

Before Inauguration Day, today's first order of business on Capitol Hill starts with a House Speaker vote.

"President Trump will return to DC and to the White House, and we will have Republican control of the Senate and the House. Things are going to be very different around here," said House Speaker Mike Johnson. 

But Johnson's future as House Speaker rests in the hands of his party. To keep his seat, Johnson will need support from almost every House Republican.

However, since December's spending bill fiasco, some party members are expressing doubts he should remain speaker. Rep. Thomas Massy is already vowing to oppose him while several other Republicans are non-committal. 

Erin Covey, House Editor at the Cook Political Report, says Republicans should want to elect a speaker quickly, which may increase Johnson's odds. "They need to certify the results of the election, and I don't think anyone wants to delay that too much, and they need a speaker in order to do that," said Covey.

Their slim majority may soon shrink by three, with Matt Gaetz's departure, and Representatives Mike Walls and Elise Stefanik likely to join Trump's cabinet.

Covey says the administration will want to pass as much legislation as possible in the next two years due to the risk of losing the House in the midterms.

"This time, the Trump team and the people he surrounds himself with are a lot more loyal, a lot more, in lockstep with his own priorities," said Covey. "So I think they could potentially be able to get more done than they were able to do in the first administration."

The GOP in the new Congress has three main priorities:

"There's only certain types of legislation that can pass through reconciliation. So, there's now a question of whether or not they try to do this in one major bill, or whether or not they try to split it up into two bills, and tackle border security and energy," said Covey.

Meanwhile, two incoming senators are making history by bringing greater representation to Congress.

Democrats Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland and Lisa Blunt-Rochester from Delaware become the first two black women to serve in the Senate at once.

"The Senate has historically been less diverse than the House. It's a smaller body, and their members are elected to longer term," said Covey. "So, it has been whiter and more dominated by men than the House."

As for Opening Day's agenda, after a House Speaker is elected, members can be sworn in and rules will be considered. One of those rules would make it harder to challenge a Speaker once elected. It would require nine Republicans for a motion forcing a vote on ousting the Speaker instead of just one as it currently stands.  Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here