As members filed into the House chamber Wednesday afternoon to vote on the next House speaker, one could sense the mood among Republicans moving from "cautiously optimistic" to "supremely confident" that they finally had a winning candidate to succeed dethroned Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Hours after Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson won the endorsement of the House G0P Conference, the three members who voted "present" — Mark Amodei of Nevada, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and French Hill of Arkansas — all announced they would support the Louisianan.
In addition, the 20 members who left the Conference before the final vote all say they are committed to Johnson in the vote for speaker by the full House.
Assuming all show up for the vote, Johnson, 51, a stalwart conservative and past chairman of the conservative House Republican Study Committee — should secure the "magic 217," which is the majority necessary for someone to wield the speaker's gavel.
The lone Republican Member who won't be voting is Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, who is currently in Israel.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.