Mike Johnson doesn’t win Speaker vote on first vote, in part due to vote for Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds reminisces about the 'good old days.'

Update: U.S. Rep. Keith Self later changed his vote to Johnson, electing the Louisiana Republican to Speaker and avoiding a second roll call vote.

Louisiana Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Mike Johnson did not secure the House Speaker gavel in the 119th Congress on the first vote. That’s in part because of one vote cast for U.S. Rep.-elect Byron Donalds, a Naples Republican.

(Note: All House members currently bear the title of “Rep.-elect” until a new Speaker is chosen and members are sworn in.)

On the first ballot, Johnson fell just shy of the votes needed for a simple majority when three Republican members cast votes for other choices. U.S. Rep.-elect Keith Self, a Texas Republican, cast his vote for Donalds. Other votes were also cast for U.S. Reps.-elect Tom Emmer and Jim Jordan, but Johnson could only afford to lose one vote and still win the Speaker post.

Nobody did win the gavel on the first ballot, so a second vote must take place. Johnson still received 216 votes to 215 for U.S. Rep.-elect Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat chosen to lead his caucus.

Self did not offer an explanation about why he supported Donalds instead of Johnson. But he expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the House under Johnson’s leadership earlier this week.

“The 118th Congress was out of control when it came to spending,” Self posted on X. “New recruits are now arriving for the 119th Congress, and I invite them to join the few of us who are working on behalf of the American people to stop the big spenders.”

Of note, Donalds voted in favor of Johnson, as did Emmer and Jordan. Every member of Florida’s U.S. House delegation supported either Jeffries or Johnson, the favorites of their respective partisan caucuses to become Speaker.

Last Congress, it took 15 ballots for U.S. Speaker Kevin McCarthy to secure the gavel, and he was ousted before holding the post for a year.

In the midst of the multiple ballots last Congress, Donalds also received votes for Speaker, and for a period also voted against McCarthy. That put him in a key position as a minority within the caucus negotiated rules changes before ultimately elevating McCarthy.