After appearing to lose in a narrow vote, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) has been re-elected for another term as Speaker of the House — an outcome pro-family leaders have said left them “elated” and which they consider “an answer to prayer.”

Members of the 119th Congress selected Johnson over Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) by a 218-215 margin, with one Republican voting for a third candidate. The first ballot appeared to leave Johnson two votes short of the 218-vote threshold necessary to take the gavel, but Johnson prevailed by convincing two of his fellow Republicans to switch their votes, with some assistance from President-elect Donald Trump.

Speaker Johnson promised to work with President Trump over the next two years to accomplish “a return to common sense.” secure the border, put American citizens’ security and prosperity first, and “roll back the totalitarian, fourth branch of government known as the administrative state.” The speaker concluded with a prayer that God will end “discord and confusion” among Americans and fashion all U.S. citizens “into one united people.”

A Vote Reversal

Johnson initially fell shy of the requisite 218 votes to become speaker following the revolt of a group of fiscally and socially conservative members of the House, led by libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Massie opposed Johnson over the speaker’s support for a sprawling 1,547-page continuing resolution released eight days before Christmas (which was later whittled down to about 100 pages), as well as Johnson’s support for a foreign aid package sending another $61 billion to Ukraine and billions to Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and Johnson’s opposition to an amendment requiring federal authorities to get a warrant before carrying out a “U.S. person query” under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Due to the Republicans’ razor-thin, 219-seat majority — the thinnest in modern American history — Johnson could spare only one vote in any given round. As all Democrats voted for Jeffires, and three Republicans cast their ballots for three different Republican alternatives.

Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), one of seven candidates to attempt to replace former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last October 25. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) voted for conservative Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), while Rep. Massie voted for House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). Emmer, who briefly sought the speaker’s gavel last October, has “concerning votes on questions of sexuality and family,” according to Travis Weber, vice president for Policy and Government Affairs at the Family Research Council. Emmer cast one of 39 House Republican votes in favor or H.R. 8404, which critics call the “Disrespect for Marriage” Act, allowing any one state to redefine marriage nationwide.

That appeared to leave the first ballot 216-215, dashing House Republican hopes of avoiding a replay of 2023, when it took 15 ballots to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House (and multiple ballots to elect Mike Johnson his successor later that year). But they never officially terminated the first ballot, leaving Johnson and Trump enough time to win Self and Norman’s votes.

Trump called Norman personally and “said, ‘Ralph, look, there’s nobody who’s got the support that Mike Johnson has. Who else is going to be the speaker that can get the support?’ He said, ‘I like Jim Jordan. Jim Jordan’s not going to get elected,” Norman revealed. While Norman described Mike Johnson as “a good, solid, Christian man who loves America,” he said, “the last 14 months have not been good” for fiscal discipline. President Trump encouraged the two to “work it out.” Speaker Johnson then told him, “I promise you that I will fight to the end for the things that you mentioned. ... If I don’t, put me out. All you’ve gotta do is get eight other people.”

“I took him at his word,” Rep. Norman told Kilmney Duchardt. Rep. Self also backed Johnson.

But Rep. Massie refused to recant. “You can pull all my fingernails out. You can shove bamboo up in them. You can start cutting off my fingers. I am not voting for Mike Johnson,” he told former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who resigned from his House seat when tapped to serve as Attorney General, only to withdraw from consideration. He now hosts a talk show on One America News Network.

The three conservative rebels had support from Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Andy Harris (R-Md.) before they fell behind Johnson the second time their votes were called. Congressmen Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) and Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) voted for Johnson the third time their votes were called.

Speaker Johnson’s Election ‘an Answer to Prayer’: Pro-family Leader

The vote came as a victory for President-elect Trump, who had bestowed upon Mike Johnson his “Complete & Total Endorsement.” Minutes after the announcement, President-elect Trump congratulated Johnson on Truth Social “for receiving an unprecedented Vote of Confidence in Congress. Mike will be a Great Speaker, and our Country will be the beneficiary. The People of America have waited four years for Common Sense, Strength, and Leadership. They’ll get it now, and America will be greater than ever before!”

The America First Policy Institute praised Johnson’s “leadership in advancing policies that secure our nation, grow our economy, and restore pride in the American dream.”

The outcome left many members of the pro-life, pro-family community overjoyed. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, who has known Johnson for decades and regularly interviews the speaker on his show, “This Week on the Hill,” called Mike Johnson’s election as speaker of the House “[a]n answer to prayer!”

“Pro-family conservatives should be elated” at the outcome, said Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project. “While so many past GOP leaders have been easily bullied by the far-Left propaganda machine, Speaker Johnson has shown an admirable willingness to reject the intimidation and stand strong on principle,” noted Schilling. “Since receiving the gavel, Speaker Johnson has been a staunch ally of American families. In recent weeks, he has helped achieve some significant pro-family policy wins, including banning taxpayer funding for the sterilization of gender-confused children in the NDAA and prohibiting men in women’s bathrooms and private spaces in the Capitol.” 

Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life said she looks forward to Speaker Johnson keeping his pro-life pledge to defund Planned Parenthood “The Democratic Party ran on abortion alone — and lost,” she said. “Let’s make progress for LIFE!” Speaker Johnson’s leadership team “has played a vital role in advancing legislation on the right to life and protecting women and their unborn children,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “We look forward to working with them in the upcoming Congress.” She previously called Mike Johnson “honest, fair, and effective,” and a leader who “exhibits grace under pressure and calmness during adversity.”

A Victory for America First Policies and ‘Traditional American Values’

Johnson’s narrow win over Hakeem Jeffries betrayed the vast gulf separating the visions offered by the two candidates and the two parties.

“We are focused on the issues that the majority of Americans care about: God, country, family, faith, freedom, and traditional American values,” insisted Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), who currently has a 100% FRC Action voting record, in her nomination speech for Johnson. “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.”

Rep. Peter Aguilar (D-Mich.), who has an 8% score with FRC Action, nominated current Democratic House leader and “the pride of Brooklyn,” Jeffries. “Even as the extreme rhetoric rises in this chamber and in the public square,” said Aguilar, opaquely portraying President Trump as a threat to democracy, “we will not stop advocating for the policies that do the most good for most people. Because of Hakeem’s leadership, we will never abandon our values or sacrifice our bedrock principles of freedom and democracy,” he declared, touting Democrats’ leading role in supporting the foreign aid package that enraged Massie.

Hakeem Jeffries Quotes the Bible before Advocating for Abortion

Jeffries began his concession speech with the much-quoted verse from the Book of Ecclesiastes that “there is a time” for every purpose. “The American people need us as their elected leaders, in this season, to put down our political swords and pick up our bipartisan plowshares,” he said, promising that “Democrats will work hard to find bipartisan common ground with our Republican colleagues” in the next two years. He slammed the Biden-Harris administration’s economy, noting that housing, groceries, and utilities have risen and the middle class has contracted. “That is not acceptable in the wealthiest country in the history of the world.”

Jeffries also claimed, “We will work with anyone to secure our borders,” but only if tacked “in a comprehensive” manner — a code word for granting mass amnesty to illegal immigrants.

“At the same period of time, we will push back against far-Right extremism whenever necessary,” he said, alleging a nonexistent Republican plot to cut Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, and/or children’s nutritional programs. (The Biden administration did threaten to withhold school lunch program funds from any school that did not allow men who identify as transgender to use girls’ restroom or shower facilities.)

Jeffries claimed America’s “freedom is now under assault.” Democrats “will always defend a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive health care decisions.”

“America promises one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all!” exclaimed the would-be Democratic speaker, literally in the next breath.

Mike Johnson Offers a Prayer for America

Speaker Johnson began with a moment of silence for the victims of the terrorist attack on New Orleans before quoting Calvin Coolidge’s March 1925 inaugural address for Americans to remain “scrupulously American.”

As he did after his election in October 2023, Speaker Johnson highlighted “seven core principles of America itself”: individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity.

“It is parents and families, and not administrators, that much be in charge of their children’s education,” he added.

Commonsense policies like parental rights sparked the November election’s “groundswell of Americans from every state, race, and religion who now demand that we put the interests of Americans first again—and we will. We will.”

“We will start by defending our nation’s borders,” Speaker Johnson promised. “We will deport dangerous, criminal illegal aliens and finally — finally — finish building the border wall.”

“We will give relief to Americans, and we’ll extend the Trump tax cuts.” Dozens of provision in President Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which slashed taxes across virtually every income level, will expire this year without a legislative fix.

Johnson promised to enact America-First policy priorities to restore U.S. industry, “restore America’s energy dominance,” eliminate the Green New Deal” funding, expedite new drilling permits, end “ridiculous” mandates for electric vehicles, and “make life affordable again for America’s hardworking people.”

Speaker Johnson pledged to end the weaponization of the federal government against pro-life advocates and “roll back the totalitarian, fourth branch of government known as the administrative state. We’re going to drastically cut back the size and scope of the government. We’re going to return the power to the people” and serve them with “a leaner federal workforce. Our people do not deserve to be ruled by thousands of bureaucrats they never voted for, never met, and can never hold accountable.”

Johnson said he would end woke military policies have “tried to replace our military warriors with social justice warriors. … We have to put an end to this madness.” Instead, America will “refocus our mission on lethality” at “the most dangerous moment since World War II.”

“What we are proposing now is simply a return to common sense,” said Speaker Johnson. “That message resonated across the country. I’m very thankful personally that this body is filled with men and women who are committed to that change, to returning to common sense.”

Speaker Johnson concluded with a prayer he read Friday morning at a congressional interfaith prayer service, held at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. Thomas Jefferson reportedly recited the prayer, known as Thomas Jefferson’s Prayer for the Nation, every day of his two terms as president and daily until his death:

“Almighty God, Who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will. Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people, the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth. In times of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”