Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
House Holds Speaker Vote. Aired 1-1:30p ET
Aired January 03, 2025 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
CLERK: Carter of Georgia.
REP. EARL CARTER (R-GA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Mike Johnson.
Carter of Louisiana.
REP. TROY CARTER (D-LA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Carter of Texas.
REP. MATT CARTWRIGHT (D-PA): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson
Casar.
REP. GREG CASAR (D-TX): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Case.
REP. ED CASE (D-HI): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Casten.
REP. SEAN CASTEN (D-IL): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Castor of Florida.
REP. KATHY CASTOR (D-FL): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Castro of Texas.
REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Cherfilus-McCormick.
REP. SHEILA CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK (D-FL): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Chu.
REP. JUDY CHU (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Ciscomani.
REP. JUAN CISCOMANI (R-AZ): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Cisneros.
REP. GIL CISNEROS (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Clark of Massachusetts.
REP. KATHERINE CLARK (D-MA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Clarke of New York.
REP. YVETTE D. CLARKE (D-NY): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Cleaver.
REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D-MO): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Cline.
REP. BENJAMIN LEE CLINE (R-VA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Cloud. Cloud.
Clyburn.
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC): Jeffries. CLERK: Jeffries.
Clyde. Clyde.
Cohen.
REP. STEVE COHEN (D-TN): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Cole.
REP. TOM COLE (R-OK): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Collins.
REP. MIKE COLLINS (R-GA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Comer.
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Conaway.
REP. HERB CONAWAY (D-NJ): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Connolly.
REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-VA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Correa.
REP. LOU CORREA (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Costa.
REP. JIM COSTA (D-CA): The gentleman from Brooklyn, Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Courtney.
REP. JOE COURTNEY (D-CT): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Craig.
REP. ANGIE CRAIG (D-MN): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Crane.
REP. ELI CRANE (R-AZ): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Crank.
REP. JEFF CRANK (R-CO): Johnson.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So, we should take a moment here to note that three House Republicans who are among the holdouts we're watching, among those who have not -- who had not committed to vote for the House of Representatives have not voted at all. The three are Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona, Michael Cloud of Texas, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
Speaker McHenry, what is your thought on this? Surely this is not a coincidence.
FMR. REP. PATRICK MCHENRY (R-NC): This is an organized event, and Biggs was visible on the House floor. He's present in the chamber somewhere or stepped out.
This is a purposeful act. What we're going to find out now is, to what end?
Is it, number one, policy, number two, process, number three, embarrassment? You can't rate out embarrassment in an environment like this of frustrated Republican members about Johnson's speakership. We just came off from two weeks ago a substantial government funding package that had all the contours of an omnibus spending package that is reflexively bad for House Republicans.
And perhaps this could be just the goal of embarrassing the speaker to say that he had to come to them and ask for their help to get across the line.
TAPPER: Interesting.
And there was a document circulated earlier by House Republicans who are skeptical of Speaker Johnson talking about a number of their issues from the last Congress, $300 billion in additional spending to the deficit, violations of the 72-hour rule twice in the week before Christmas, and on and on.
What is your suspicion, Congressman Dent, about why these three have voted -- have not voted at all? Are they just trying to get the speaker to grovel before them, or is there a policy commitment they would like?
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I suspect they do want things,but I suspect a lot of this is about getting some attention, bringing about some more drama, some excitement.
And we wouldn't underestimate.There's a there's a small wing within the House Republican Conference that is kind of nihilistic. They want to burn the place down from time to time. And you know what I'm talking about.
[13:05:08]
This is what we have seen for years. And this is part of what they do. They want to be able to cause trouble. I think sometimes they just do trouble for the sake of trouble. They will go on forever about the rules and the process. But that's not what it's about.
I mean, it's just about stirring the pot and making life difficult for the governing wing of the party.
TAPPER: And just so viewers at home understand, we are going to go back to the floor of the House when we approach another possible holdout. Right now, the voting is pretty much going down party lines, Republicans voting for Speaker Johnson, Democrats voting for Congressman Jeffries to be speaker.
Ashley Etienne, the -- Speaker Pelosi had people in her Democratic Caucus who were pains to her as much as the Freedom Caucus is to Speaker Johnson, but it never got to this. There would be holdouts here and there, usually more conservative members who didn't want TV ads saying that his first vote was voting for Speaker Pelosi.
But there were also people on her left that were policy gadflies. But she ruled her caucus with more of an iron fist. Is that fair to say?
ASHLEY ETIENNE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that's absolutely fair to say.
I mean, the speaker would have never brought a vote to the floor without knowing that she was definitely going to win. I mean, it's a mark of real leadership the difference between her and how Republicans lead the chamber.
I hate to sort of belabor this point, but Donald Trump's got some skin in the game in this one, unlike the last vote. He didn't come in to back McCarthy until three or four votes in after he had lost. So Trump's got some skin in the game here. And so this is not just a slight to the speaker. It's also a slight to him.
KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I'm curious to see if these three become more than three as we go through the alphabet, because the rules package that's been discussed for this new Congress, the reason why McCarthy was vulnerable because that threshold was very low.
You only needed one rabble-rouser to start trouble and set off that sequence of events that led to his ouster. With a threshold of nine, I wonder if you will actually see it get up to nine, different Republicans all choosing to hold out to sort of send a message, nice little speakership you have here. Would be interesting if something happened to it.
TAPPER: Right, and then not -- and then ultimately to vote for him.
SOLTIS ANDERSON: Right.
TAPPER: Because we should just note, I mean, it's still entirely possible that Speaker Johnson wins on the first ballot.
ETIENNE: Sure.
(CROSSTALK)
TAPPER: We don't know. But there is something demonstrative is happening right now.
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I just am reminded of the state motto of my home commonwealth of Kentucky, united we stand, divided we fall. That ought to be what Republicans are thinking about today. The chamber is very closely divided.
They don't have any margin for error on this or anything moving forward. And to me, the spirit of teamwork and unity ought to flow out of this today, because they're going to need it when they try to enact Donald Trump's agenda. I mean, that's the thing.
We're electing a speaker. Today, tomorrow and IN the weeks ahead, it's going to be passing bills and trying to do what Donald Trump ran on. And if you're going through this internal fighting and weeping and gnashing of teeth every single time, it's going to be a huge drag on the morale of the Republican Party because they wanted Trump to act.
And this kind of stuff right here keeps Trump from being able to do what he campaigned on.
ETIENNE: Congressman Dent said it best. This should be the easiest vote that you take in Congress, this vote here that -- to vote for the speaker. But I think it's a sign of the chaos to come.
MCHENRY: Well, leaders drone on endlessly about unity. But we all know that going into this new Congress, Republicans are going to need Hakeem Jeffries every day to pass funding bills, to pass the debt ceiling., anything that has to get done. So...
TAPPER: Yes, let's listen in because we're approaching Andy Harris of Maryland, who is another holdout.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Green of Tennessee.
REP. MARK GREEN (R-TN): Mike Johnson. CLERK: Johnson.
Green of Texas.
REP. AL GREEN (D-TX): (OFF-MIKE)
(SHOUTING)
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gentleman may respond by surname.
(CHEERING)
CLERK: Green of Texas, Jeffries.
Greene of Georgia.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Griffith.
REP. MORGAN GRIFFITH (R-VA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
[13:10:03]
Grijalva.
REP. RAUL GRIJALVA (D-AZ): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Grothman.
REP. GLENN GROTHMAN (R-WI): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Guest.
REP. MICHAEL GUEST (R-MS): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Guthrie.
REP. BRETT GUTHRIE (R-KY): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Hageman.
REP. HARRIET HAGEMAN (R-WY): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Hamadeh of Arizona.
REP. ABRAHAM HAMADEH (R-AZ): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Harder of California.
REP. JOSH HARDER (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Haridopolos.
REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Harrigan.
REP. PAT HARRIGAN (R-NC): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Harris of Maryland. Harris of Maryland.
Harris of North Carolina.
REP. MARK HARRIS (R-NC): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Harshbarger.
REP. DIANA HARSHBARGER (R-TN): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Hayes.
REP. JAHANA HAYES (D-CT): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
DANA BASH, CNN HOST: You heard Andy Harris, Andy Harris, one of the key members of the House Freedom Caucus, Republican of Maryland, did not vote.
So, adding Andy Harris into the others we have seen and heard not voting, that's five. That makes five Republicans so far. As we kind of try to marinate on that and understand what it means, I want to bring in Manu Raju.
Manu, I think it's really key to note that this is clearly a strategy, that these Republicans are holding out. And the question as we have heard from some of our esteemed colleagues sitting with Jake who have actually been in the House of Representatives on the Republican side, the question is whether or not they're just doing this to -- for show or whether they're holding out or whether or not they're actually going to try to get something or at the end they will come around.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, those are all key questions.
And this is very much a strategic decision not to vote, Dana. In fact, our colleagues who are now in the Senate, in the House chamber watching this all play out and say that these members are actually in the chamber while their names are being called. They simply are just not responding to their names being called.
So they have made the -- it's not that they're out at a meeting or they simply skipped this vote. They are there and decided not to vote. So the question Dana is, they will have a chance to vote at the end of this process. Will they vote yes or will they continue to hold out?
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: Manu, we're going to go back to the floor. Mike Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries, their votes will be soon.
CLERK: Johnson.
Jacobs.
REP. SARA JACOBS (D-CA): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
James.
REP. JOHN JAMES (R-MI): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Mike Johnson.
Jayapal.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Jeffries.
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
(CHEERING)
CLERK: Johnson of Georgia.
REP. HANK JOHNSON (D-GA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Johnson of Louisiana.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
(CHEERING)
BASH: So, there you, not surprisingly, saw Mike Johnson vote for himself, and so did Hakeem Jeffries voted for himself.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That would have been quite a story if they didn't.
(LAUGHTER)
BASH: It sure would have.
This is dramatic. And, again, we need to emphasize, two years ago notwithstanding, this is not normal. This does not happen with House speaker votes. It hasn't in 100 years up until two years ago.
CHALIAN: The other thing I was thinking about, not only does it not happen, but you see here when Jeffries was voting, who was over his left shoulder? The old guard, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, longtime leaders of the Democratic Caucus in the House.
The Republicans don't have that on their side because they get ousted their speakers, John Boehner, Kevin McCarthy, by a lot of the same rabble-rousers inside the conference that are still here today and in this very moment being a thorn in Johnson's side.
KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I mean, you remember the day that John Boehner dropped the gavel, literally dropped it, like the microphone, and basically walked away.
He did it because of the forces that we are seeing play out on the floor right now. And it has been the theme that has run through. It's gotten bigger and bigger with time, really presaging the Donald Trump era for the Republican Party in Washington.
[13:15:03]
And the reality is, what are these people looking for, right, these people who are not -- are saying that they're not there? They're looking for attention, right? That's what they are trying to generate.
BASH: Yes, I mean, in fairness, Johnson, no question they want attention. Some of them want attention for attention's sake. You heard Charlie Dent say that there's a sense of nihilism here.
HUNT: Sure.
(CROSSTALK) BASH: Others -- and you know these guys -- are genuinely worried about the debt and the deficit and don't feel confident that either Mike Johnson or Donald Trump are as committed to that as they are.
HUNT: And that's absolutely true and absolutely fair. And I did not mean to lump together those who are strictly attention seekers.
BASH: Yes.
HUNT: But, to David's point, it didn't used to be an acceptable way...
BASH: Totally.
HUNT: ... of getting attention to basically undermine the leader of your own party, especially in a town that is so incredibly closely divided where, again, if you actually want to use your power to change things, you do have to actually act in a unified way.
And that's the thing. That's really the rub, has been that a lot of these Freedom Caucus members, they have been willing to kind of try to burn down the town in order to make their points, often serious policy points, but then the actual effect of that is the government doesn't function.
BASH: Exactly.
CHALIAN: And we will see if they can extract anything tangible, if that is at the end of this round, if they actually get something from Mike Johnson.
And Doug Heye, I want to bring you in here because, two years ago, when it was Kevin McCarthy, Joe Biden was in the White House, was going to be in the White House during Kevin McCarthy's term as speaker. Now, this is about Donald Trump.
And we cannot forget that, that Donald Trump has endorsed Mike Johnson and that his entire agenda is on the line here.
DOUG HEYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, Donald Trump has changed the Republican Party in a lot of ways, but some of it is very familiar.
And for all the talk, Dana, that I have heard so far about teamwork -- and I agree how important that is -- I go back to a quote from Robert Draper of "The New York Times" put out in 2012. Raul Labrador was a freshman member of Congress in the Congress coming after the Tea Party election of 2010.
And he said, I didn't come here to be a part of any team.
That is still a very real attitude for a lot of these members that we're referring to as holdouts. And those people who are no-show voters at this point, they're on the House floor but are not voting, they're not -- they don't want to be a part of any team, except maybe their little clique that has fun doing things like this. But, ultimately, and I can tell you, and Congressman McHenry knows
this as well, the drama and tension that this brings to the House floor is palpable every time it happens.
BASH: Speaking of that, I want to go back to the House floor.
Thomas Massie should be coming up.
CLERK: Johnson.
Maloy.
REP. CELESTE MALOY (R-UT): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Mann.
REP. TRACEY MANN (R-KS): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Mannion.
REP. JOHN MANNION (D-NY): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Massie.
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): Tom Emmer.
CLERK: Emmer.
BASH: OK, so Thomas Massie, as promised, is a no.
He voted for Tom Emmer instead. That is a protest vote and a no-vote. and, Jake, the first official no-vote from the Republican Conference for Mike Johnson -- Jake.
TAPPER: Oh, Dana, thank you so much. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you throw to me.
So, right now, for those keeping track at home, that's one vote from a Republican for someone other than Speaker Mike Johnson. That's Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who we knew was going to vote -- was not going to vote for Johnson. He voted for Congressman Tom Emmer.
In addition to that, I think there -- is it four or five Republicans have not voted? What is our count at this point?
DENT: Five.
TAPPER: Five. Five house Republicans have not voted, including Paul Gosar of Arizona, Andy Harris of Maryland, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andrew Clyde of Georgia. Manu Raju, do we have any idea why they are doing this, why they are just not voting?
RAJU: Well, they have asked for a number of concessions behind the scenes.
And, clearly, what the speaker has given them is not enough. What more they ultimately ask for remains to be seen. There's some speculation for some time that Jake, they wanted to push for Chip Roy to be chairman of the very powerful House Rules Committee, which determines what legislation can come to the floor, an incredibly important position, something simply Mike Johnson would not go -- and, in fact, he would cause a revolt from many of the other members of the House Republican Conference, who would not want Roy in that position.
[13:20:00]
We will see if that's what they're asking for, but, at the moment, those members are staying quiet.
Now, Jake, those five members will have to make a decision by the end of this, because, if they don't vote, then it will lower the overall voting threshold, because, remember, this is the majority of the members who are present and voting for a specific candidate.
If they're not there, it lowers the threshold. If they lower it too much, they can actually accidentally elect Hakeem Jeffries as the next speaker of the House, which, of course, Republicans don't want to do. So expect these members ultimately to make a decision on how to proceed here, because, at the end of this roll call vote, they're going to have to make a decision, vote for another candidate altogether, ultimately get on board with Mike Johnson if Mike Johnson wants to make a deal with these members.
At the moment, Jake, he is not engaged in these discussions with these members on the floor. We're told from our colleagues inside the chamber that they're sitting there essentially quietly among themselves, clearly coordinating this strategy. But exactly what they want remains a bit unclear at the moment, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Thank you so much.
Former Speaker McHenry, so right now we have a situation not completely dissimilar from what Kevin McCarthy went through, although we don't know the result of this. But five House Republicans have not voted. And they're -- it's not a coincidence. It's holdouts, people who were making it clear that they had questions about Johnson being speaker.
Thomas Massie followed through on his pledge to not vote for Johnson. So it's still possible that Speaker Johnson could end up speaker. And yet you have these others that are staging something of a silent protest of some sort?
And we -- according to Manu, Speaker Johnson is not engaging with him. Let's listen in for a second. Then I'm going to come back to you for your thoughts.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Neal.
REP. RICHARD NEAL (D-MA): Jeffries.
CLERK: Neguse.
REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Nehls.
REP. TROY NEHLS (R-TX): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Newhouse.
REP. DAN NEWHOUSE (R-WA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Norcross.
REP. DONALD NORCROSS (D-NJ): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Norman.
REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): Jim Jordan.
CLERK: Jordan.
Nunn of Iowa.
REP. ZACH NUNN (R-IA): The Honorable Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Obernolte.
REP. JAY OBERNOLTE (R-CA): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Ocasio-Cortez.
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Ogles. REP. ANDY OGLES (R-TN): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Olszewski.
REP. JOHN OLSZEWSKI JR. (D-MD): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Omar.
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Jeffries.
TAPPER: We're still waiting to hear from Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, but we should note with those two Republican members of the House voting for someone other than Speaker Johnson, it is clear that unless these votes change before they gavel it down, Speaker Johnson will not be elected on this ballot.
Let's listen in. We're going to wait to hear what Congressman Scott Perry does.
CLERK: Johnson.
Panetta.
REP. JIMMY PANETTA (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Pappas.
REP. CHRIS PAPPAS (D-NH): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Pelosi.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
(CHEERING)
CLERK: Perez.
REP. MARIE PEREZ (D-WA): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Perry.
REP. SCOTT PERRY (R-PA): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson. Peters.
REP. SCOTT PETERS (D-CA): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Pettersen.
REP. BRITTANY PETTERSEN (D-CO): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Pfluger.
REP. AUGUST PFLUGER (R-TX): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Pingree.
REP. CHELLIE PINGREE (D-ME): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Pocan.
REP. MARK POCAN (D-White House): Jeffries.
CLERK: Pou.
REP. NELLIE POU (D-NJ): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Pressley. Pressley.
REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY (D-MA): (OFF-MIKE)
CLERK: Jeffries.
Quigley.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Ramirez.
REP. DELIA RAMIREZ (D-IL): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Randall.
REP. EMILY RANDALL (D-WA): Hakeem Jeffries.
[13:25:00]
CLERK: Jeffries.
Raskin.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Reschenthaler.
REP. GUY RESCHENTHALER (R-PA): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Riley of New York.
REP. JOSH RILEY (D-NY): (OFF-MIKE) Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Rivas.
REP. LUZ RIVAS (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Rogers of Alabama.
REP. MIKE ROGERS (R-AL): (OFF-MIKE)
CLERK: Johnson.
Rogers of Kentucky.
REP. HAROLD ROGERS (R-KY): Johnson.
Rose.
REP. JOHN ROSE (R-TN): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Ross.
REP. DEBORAH ROSS (D-NC): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Rouzer.
REP. DAVID ROUZER (R-NC): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Roy. Roy. Ruiz.
REP. RAUL RUIZ (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Rulli.
TAPPER: All right, so we just saw Congressman Chip Roy defiantly standing up and not voting. That makes him the sixth House Republican to not vote at all, in addition to two House Republicans voting for members of Congress other than Speaker Johnson.
So Speaker Johnson at this rate will not be the speaker on the first ballot.
Former Speaker McHenry, are you surprised by this? I think you were calling for him to win on the first ballot. A lot of people were, by the way, including Speaker Johnson, I believe. And, apparently, that is not going to be the case, unless either Congressman Norman or Congressman Massie change their votes.
MCHENRY: Well, and Massie is unlikely to change. He's a man of his word, man of principle and immovable, and, by the way, for Kevin McCarthy on the first vote two years ago, which was about process reforms and expectations.
So this group here -- and I think it's important to note that the skipped votes, they're actively in the chamber.
TAPPER: Yes, they're still there, yes.
MCHENRY: And from the moment that Biggs skipped, we saw them in the chamber as the cameras were scanning and you're explaining the glories of this opening day, where we can see everything.
But this is an active group of folks. We're going to find out what they want. This is what we had to do with Speaker McCarthy. There were some private expectations-setting and demands. And then you had to show your public vote before you can effectuate some process or policy changes or goal-setting.
This is to prove that they have capacity. In a narrow House, it is showing that this group of Freedom Caucus members thinks that they are in a powerful position to set the agenda and control the House floor.
They're -- in my view, sitting here, freely as a nonmember of Congress for 90 minutes, I would tell you that they're thinking -- they're playing the game as if it was two years ago or four years ago. It's a different game.
TAPPER: How so?
MCHENRY: Donald Trump won a very nice Electoral College majority, a very nice popular vote majority, and brought in a Republican Senate, a Republican House. The setting here is so different. To Scott Jennings' point, the situation is so different. And they're going to find that, rather than being the beneficiaries of this cycle, they're going to be a part of the buzz saw of dealing with the attention from former, now incoming President Trump, and what that would do to the Republican base.
TAPPER: Let's listen in. We want to hear a couple others, Congresswoman Spartz and congressman Steube.
CLERK: Smith of Washington.
REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Smucker.
REP. LLOYD SMUCKER (R-PA): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Sorensen.
REP. ERIC SORENSEN (D-IL): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Soto.
REP. DARREN SOTO (D-FL): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Spartz. Spartz.
REP. VICTORIA SPARTZ (R-IN): (OFF-MIKE)
CLERK: Johnson.
Stansbury.
REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Stanton.
REP. GREG STANTON (D-AZ): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Stauber.
REP. PETE STAUBER (R-MN): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson. Stefanik.
REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): (OFF-MIKE)
CLERK: Johnson.
Steil.
REP. BRYAN STEIL (R-WI): Mike Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Steube.
REP. GREG STEUBE (R-FL): Johnson.
CLERK: Johnson.
Stevens.
REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
Strickland.
REP. MARILYN STRICKLAND (D-WA): Hakeem Jeffries.
CLERK: Jeffries.
TAPPER: So, if we're keeping track at home, that is three House Republicans who have voted for candidates other than Speaker Johnson.
While we were talking, Congressman Keith Self of Texas voted for Florida Congressman Byron Donalds. So, that is three.
