ELECTION OF SPEAKER

ELECTION OF SPEAKER

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 1 (Friday, January 3, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 1 (Friday, January 3, 2025)] [House] [Pages H2-H7] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] ELECTION OF SPEAKER The CLERK. Pursuant to law and precedent, the next order of business is the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress. Nominations are now in order. The Clerk recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. McClain). Mrs. McCLAIN. Mr. Clerk, as chair of the Republican Conference, I am directed by the vote of that Conference to present for election to the Office of Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress the name [[Page H3]] of the Honorable Mike Johnson, a Representative-elect from the State of Louisiana. Mr. Clerk, I thank you and my fellow colleagues. As the chair of the Republican Conference, I am directed by the vote of that Conference to present for election to the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress the name of the Honorable Mike Johnson, a Representative from the State of Louisiana. Welcome, everybody. I am optimistic about our future. On November 5, the American people gave us a great opportunity to get America back on the right track. They gave us an opportunity to get back to normal and to get back to the real issues that the country faces right now. People want the opportunity to take care of their families. They simply want to provide for their children and give them a prosperous future. Mr. Clerk, we have the opportunity today to do just that. We have an opportunity to take our country back. With Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and President Donald J. Trump in charge, we have the opportunity to put America first again. We have an opportunity to do something about crime; we have an opportunity to do something about the border; and we have an opportunity to take care of our veterans. We--every single Member in this Chamber and those of you watching at home on TV--should be looking forward knowing that America will be respected again. Our country is the last bastion of hope. If we fail, then who? This is why we are focused on the issues that the majority of Americans care about: God, family, country, faith, freedom, and traditional American values. We should be making it easier for people to achieve the American Dream. Over 14 months ago, Mike Johnson took on a daunting task. No Speaker is perfect, and no one will ever be. However, achieving perfection requires incremental gains and hard decisions along the way. None of us will get exactly what we want. The fundamental collective goal of this body is to make progress for the American people in which we represent, and we have done just that under Mike's leadership. We should be celebrating and building upon his efforts, our efforts. Mike has remained the same kind and caring person as he was before he assumed this role. He is an honest broker. He shows you his true beliefs at face value. He is steadfast in his values of faith, family, and love of this country. He knows our brightest days are still ahead of us; and I do, too. I am hopeful for the next Congress. I am optimistic that we will focus on those issues that people truly care about. I know Mike will be an integral part of this country's comeback. He will lead us through another successful Republican majority. As chairwoman of the unified House Republican Conference, I can say proudly that we are ready to govern. It is my honor to present our Conference's nominee for the Speaker of the people's House, the Honorable Mike Johnson from the State of Louisiana. {time} 1245 The CLERK. The Clerk now recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar). Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Clerk, I have had a little bit of practice and, clearly, my colleagues took notice. I rise to place a name in nomination, but, first, I acknowledge my colleague from Michigan (Mrs. McClain) for her heartfelt and personal nominating speech. As someone who has given a few of these, I can say Representative McClain served her Conference well. Mr. Clerk, today I rise on behalf of the governing majority of the House of Representatives. The American people have sent a strong message that they want their elected leaders working together to tackle the affordability crisis. There is only one leader in this Chamber with the track record of compromise, conviction, and compassion. There is only one leader who understands the needs of the working people, who has lived the American Dream himself, and who is committed to ensuring its promise for future generations. There is only one leader who knows how to negotiate a bipartisan deal and then stick to that deal. House Democrats are united behind the most powerful legislative leader in this Chamber, Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn. House Democrats, under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries, are committed to bipartisanship and commonsense solutions to America's most pressing challenges. In the face of chaos and dysfunction over the last 2 years, our Caucus has kept the government funded, kept our allies protected, and the economy secured from the catastrophic default. In the 119th Congress, we will work with the incoming administration to make life better, safer, and more affordable for working families. The incoming administration must also recognize that while my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are divided and while compromise remains a dirty word for so many, Congress won't be able to keep the lights on, let alone pass anything of substance, without the buy-in and blessing of House Democrats and Hakeem Jeffries. Make no mistake, Democrats want to bring down the cost of living, build more housing, and lower the cost of everyday items, like food, medicine, and childcare. Even as the extreme rhetoric rises in this Chamber and in the public square, we will not stop advocating for the policies that do the most good for the most people. Because of Hakeem's leadership, we will never abandon our values or sacrifice our bedrock principles of freedom and democracy. When America's enemies abroad threatened our democratic ally Ukraine, when terrorists attacked our strongest ally, Israel, it was Hakeem Jeffries and House Democrats who delivered the votes and stood tall for America's national security. When the least, the lost, and the left behind were threatened with devastating cuts, Hakeem Jeffries stood with America's mothers, children, and veterans. When the incoming administration wanted to raise the debt limit by trillions of dollars in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected, leaving middle-class families to pay for the bill and leaving them high and dry, Hakeem Jeffries didn't just say no, he said hell no. That is why there is only one true candidate today for Speaker. Mr. Clerk, I am honored to rise today at the direction of the House Democratic Caucus to place into nomination for election to the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the pride of Brooklyn, the gentleman from New York (Hakeem Jeffries). The CLERK. The names of the Honorable Mike Johnson, a Representative-elect from the State of Louisiana, and the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, a Representative-elect from the State of New York, have been placed in nomination. Are there further nominations? There being no further nominations, the Clerk appoints the following tellers: The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx); The gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle); The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil); and The gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Torres). The tellers will come forward and take their seats at the desk in front of the Speaker's rostrum. The roll will now be called, and those responding to their names will indicate by surname the nominee of their choosing. The Reading Clerk will now call the roll. The tellers having taken their places, the House proceeded to vote for the Speaker. The following is the result of the vote: [Roll No. 2] JOHNSON (LA)--218 Aderholt Alford Allen Amodei (NV) Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barrett Baumgartner Bean (FL) Begich Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs (AZ) Biggs (SC) Bilirakis Boebert Bost Brecheen Bresnahan Buchanan Burchett Burlison Calvert Cammack Carey Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Collins Comer Crane Crank Crawford Crenshaw Davidson De La Cruz DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Downing Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Evans (CO) Ezell Fallon [[Page H4]] Fedorchak Feenstra Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flood Fong Foxx Franklin, Scott Fry Fulcher Garbarino Gill (TX) Gimenez Goldman (TX) Gonzales, Tony Gooden Gosar Graves Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Hamadeh (AZ) Haridopolos Harrigan Harris (MD) Harris (NC) Harshbarger Hern (OK) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hunt Hurd (CO) Issa Jack Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kean Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kennedy (UT) Kiggans (VA) Kiley (CA) Kim Knott Kustoff LaHood LaLota LaMalfa Langworthy Latta Lawler Lee (FL) Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luna Luttrell Mace Mackenzie Malliotakis Maloy Mann Mast McCaul McClain McClintock McCormick McDowell McGuire Messmer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (OH) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Mills Moolenaar Moore (AL) Moore (NC) Moore (UT) Moore (WV) Moran Murphy Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunn (IA) Obernolte Ogles Onder Owens Palmer Perry Pfluger Reschenthaler Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rouzer Roy Rulli Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schmidt Schweikert Scott, Austin Self Sessions Shreve Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Stefanik Steil Steube Strong Stutzman Taylor Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner (OH) Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Van Orden Wagner Walberg Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Westerman Wied Williams (TX) Wils