On the 3rd, when the 119th United States Congress convened (local time), Republican Representative Mike Johnson was reappointed as Speaker of the House.
On that day, Speaker Johnson secured 218 votes in the Speaker of the House election held at the United States Capitol in Washington DC, successfully winning re-election in the first round of voting.
Democratic House Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries received 215 votes, and Republican Representative Tom Emmer received 1 vote.
To become Speaker of the House, a majority of at least 218 votes is required. The majority party, the Republicans, hold 219 seats, allowing them to elect their candidate internally, but if just two members defected, re-election would have been impossible.
However, Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, supported Johnson's re-election by stating until the morning of that day, "Mike's victory today will be a huge win for the Republican Party," helping him secure another term.
In particular, this time the Republican Party reportedly made every effort to minimize defections within the party ahead of Trump’s inauguration. The joint session of Congress to certify Trump’s presidential election victory is scheduled for the 6th.
Meanwhile, with the House completing the election of its Speaker, the 119th federal Congress officially begins its activities.
The 119th Congress was launched with the Republican Party, the party of President-elect Trump, holding the majority in both chambers.
The Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate (total 100 seats, majority 51 seats) and 219 seats in the House (total 435 seats, majority 218 seats), showing a narrow advantage over the Democrats in both chambers.
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