US House Speaker Mike Johnson re-elected

According to TASS, Mr. Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, was re-elected as Speaker of the US House of Representatives in the first round of voting on January 3 (Washington time).

Johnson, 52, received the support of a majority (218) of the House members when the new 119th Congress began its work on January 3. Initially, in the first round of voting, Johnson appeared to fall short of the necessary votes to retain his seat, due to opposition from two Republican senators as well as all Democrats. However, after brief private consultations, they changed their views and eventually supported Johnson's candidacy.

US media previously noted that difficulties in Mr. Johnson's re-election as Speaker of the House or his removal from this position could negatively affect the stance of US President-elect Donald Trump - who had previously declared his full support for Mr. Johnson's candidacy.

Mr Trump congratulated Johnson after the vote. "Mike will be a great Speaker of the House and will do great things for our country," the president-elect declared.

The Speaker of the House is the third most important position in the US government hierarchy. Mr. Johnson was first elected as Speaker of the House in October 2023 after his predecessor Kevin McCarthy was removed from office.

One of the first tasks of the new Congress will be to ratify the results of the January 6 presidential election in a joint session of the House and Senate.