Rep. Mike Johnson, a relatively little-known Louisiana Republican and low-ranking member of the GOP leadership team, became the party’s latest nominee for House speaker Tuesday night after three other hopefuls fizzled out.
He was nominated just hours after Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., beat Johnson and six other candidates to seize the nomination, only to quickly drop his bid after he failed to secure the near-unanimous GOP support needed on the House floor.
Johnson, the GOP Conference vice chair, could suffer a fate similar to Emmer’s. It remains unclear whether he can garner the 217 Republican votes — a simple majority of the full House — needed to win the coveted gavel.
