Rep. will maintain Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has the big gavel after his fellow Republicans voted to re-elect him as House Speaker on Friday afternoon.
Johnson, who is publicly supported by President-elect Donald Trump, got the minimum 218 votes needed to win the job in the first round of voting, although he had to persuade two of his fellow Republicans – Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) and Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) – who voted first for other candidates to change their votes to him.
Because Republicans only had a slim margin of control in the House, Johnson could only afford to lose one vote – which he did, to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky). Massie’s “no” vote was not surprising; he previously told former Rep. Matt Gaetz he literally would endure torture before voting for Johnson. Instead, Massie voted for Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the Majority Whip and a longtime supporter of the crypto industry. Emmer voted for Johnson.
Friday’s voting process – the first order of business at the start of the 119th Congress – took just 2.5 hours in total, a faster and more streamlined process than the previous election in Oct. It’s 2023 first saw Johnson elected.
Although Johnson is not very vocal about crypto issues, he is widely considered a friend of the industry. He previously voted for the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (better known as FIT21) and an anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) bill.
Johnson’s re-election — and Emmer’s continued position as Majority Whip — means that crypto-friendly members of Congress are likely well-positioned to push for crypto legislation in 2025.
