Rep. Mike Johnson receives votes to be next House speaker

Republican nominee Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.,  on Wednesday received the votes needed to become  the next speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Before the vote, Johnson sought to solidify support from his party, from which he needed nearly unanimous support to win the ballot. Republicans nominated Johnson late Tuesday night. It had nominated House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., earlier in the day, but Emmer withdrew from the race for the gavel just hours after he received the nomination.

How did Republicans decide to nominate Emmer? The party had auditioned nine candidates in a candidate forum Monday evening, one of whom withdrew his bid during the forum. The voting process eliminated some candidates throughout Tuesday morning.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew on Jim Jordan’s failure to secure the speaker’s gavel.