Trump-Backed Mike Johnson Re-Elected Speaker of the House

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) can maintain the large gavel after his fellow Republicans voted to re-elect him as Speaker of the Home of Representatives on Friday afternoon.

Johnson, who was publicly endorsed by newly elected President Donald Trump, managed to gather the minimal 218 votes wanted to win the job within the first spherical of voting, though he defeated two of his fellow Republicans – Rep. Ralph Norman – needed to persuade. R-South Carolina) and Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) – who initially voted for different candidates solely to modify their votes to him.

As a result of Republicans had solely a razor-thin margin of management within the Home of Representatives, Johnson may solely afford to lose one vote — and he did, to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky). Massie’s “no” vote got here as no shock; he beforehand instructed former Rep. Matt Gaetz that he actually would withstand torture before voting for Johnson. As an alternative, Massie voted for Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the Majority Whip and longtime supporter of the crypto trade. Emmer voted for Johnson.

Friday’s voting course of – the primary order of enterprise at first of the 119th Congress – took simply 2.5 hours in complete, a a lot sooner and extra streamlined course of than the earlier election in October 2023, by which Johnson was elected for the primary time.

Though Johnson has not been very outspoken on crypto points, he’s broadly thought of a buddy of the trade. He beforehand voted for the Monetary Innovation and Expertise for the twenty first Century Act (higher often called FIT21) and a invoice in opposition to the central financial institution for digital currencies (CBDC).

Johnson’s re-election – and Emmer’s continued place as Majority Whip – implies that crypto-friendly members of Congress are doubtless well-positioned to move crypto laws in 2025.