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House Votes For Speaker Soon As Johnson Fights To Keep Job; McClain Nominates Johnson For House Speaker; Aguilar Nominates Jeffries For Speaker. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired January 03, 2025 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:32:53]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: This House of Representatives is on the brink of voting for House speaker, huge implications for President-elect Trump coming up for Republicans as well. And in for the nation, Speaker Johnson's re-election bid is on the line as the nominating speeches in the roll call are about to begin very soon.
My panels back with me, including two former members of the House Republican conference, Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. Congressman Dent, what are you looking for in this vote that we're about to have on who should be speaker of the House.
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I'm looking to see if this goes to a second round. That's my big issue right now. We know that Massie is a hard no. The question is, will there be any others?
Now, it appears that there might be an absence or two. That's going to lower the threshold. I'm also going to watch today, too, if any of these members who have expressed some displeasure with Johnson vote present. That also skews the math a bit too.
So I'm going to watch for that. But I tend to agree with Patrick McHenry that I think this is probably going to get done on the first ballot, but it could go to a second.
TAPPER: What does it mean, Speaker McHenry, if people vote present? We heard Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, he's somebody who voted against Speaker McCarthy in the last Congress. He said some people might vote present, which obviously would be a statement of disapproval but -- and not support, but also not opposition.
PATRICK MCHENRY (R), FORMER SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: Yes.
TAPPER: What does that mean vote wise, though?
MCHENRY: It doesn't count against the vote. So -- but you're lowering the threshold. If Republicans do this, you lower the threshold and you could have a situation where there are enough Republican present votes that you elect a Democrat -- you put the Democrat in the leader leading position for votes. TAPPER: Wow.
MCHENRY: And that is a very bad optics question. But then we'll go to a second round. It has a similar effect.
TAPPER: Would they actually do that? So there are 219 Republicans without Matt Gaetz who resigned, 215 Democrats. So if all 215 Democrats vote for Hakeem Jeffries --
MCHENRY: Yes.
TAPPER: -- and four or let's say five Republicans vote present, one is a no, we know Massie is a no, and then four vote present, that means Hakeem Jeffries is Speaker of the House?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
MCHENRY: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
MCHENRY: You still have to give to a majority of those that are voting.
TAPPER: Majority? OK. Majority of those voting.
MCHENRY: Yes.
TAPPER: OK. I got excited there for a second for more drama.
MCHENRY: Yes.
[12:35:08]
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know what strikes me about all this imagination? This is all a bridge to nowhere. I mean, all these people voting no, voting present. What is -- to what end is the Republican Party doing this? And I think this is probably what Donald Trump's frustration is and why he's putting so much time and effort into getting Johnson elected here.
There's no alternative. You know, these no votes, president votes, there's no alternative. Johnson's the only one who can do this today. And the sooner he does it, the better off Trump will be and the better off the Republican Party will be.
The Republican voters of this country elected Trump and these people to do things, not fight amongst themselves. They want to fight somebody. There's a whole bunch of Democrats in there they can fight with.
So, I hope that message is being delivered. I know people have policy preferences and are upset about this, that, and the other, but you can't fix any of it until you get leadership elected. And that's why I hope this happens on the first ballot today. TAPPER: We're looking right now at Chip Roy of Texas. How he votes is a mystery right now. If he votes no, that means that Speaker Johnson will not be elected on the first ballot and will go to another ballot. What you want (ph)?
MCHENRY: But on the key here, look at the situation here. We're zoomed in very closely on -- he's sitting at the back of the House chamber on the Republican side by the rail. There's a brass rail right there. And he's sitting -- he's standing alone by himself. He's not working members.
That's a member of the House representative's floor staff there who manages the door. That's who's sitting next to him. So he's alone. He's not working a group of members to do a thing. That is some indication to me that he is -- he's not working to vote against Johnson.
TAPPER: Who's to his right? We saw it there first.
MCHENRY: That's -- it's one of the doorkeeper staff.
TAPPER: What do you think, Ashley? What are you thinking as you're watching all this?
ASHLEY ETIENNE, FORMER DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY, VP HARRIS: Well, I mean, to answer Scott's point, I mean, the reason why we're going through all of this is because this is just par for the course for Republicans. I mean, they do this every time. There's always an effort to undermine and weaken the speakership, which, you know, always baffles me. I don't really get it.
But here's the thing. I'm just going to take some --
TAPPER: You did bring a tub of popcorn, you know, I -- but I should note (ph).
ETIENNE: Every time, Jake, you know it. This is my -- one of my favorite days is to watch the Republican Party implode. But more importantly, I think I'm going to take some shots early if you don't mind. I think what this shows me is the weakness of Donald Trump.
Donald Trump has endorsed Speaker Johnson. There's still 12 --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stronger, stronger.
ETIENNE: Strongly.
TAPPER: Yes.
ETIENNE: There's still 12 members. We're on -- there's still these unknowns. There's still 12 members that aren't sure that they're going to vote for the Speaker yet. We don't know the answer to that question. Secondly, he lost the shutdown fight, the debt ceiling fight.
Thirdly, Elon Musk is running the White House without even being in the White House. I mean, there's all these unanswered --
JENNINGS: Well, to be clear --
ETIENNE: I mean, he's running --
JENNINGS: -- the current White House is being run by Joe Biden's unelected staff, but go ahead.
ETIENNE: But nevertheless -- but Elon Musk is calling the shots (INAUDIBLE) domestically and internationally, going after some of our U.S. allies just recently after yesterday.
JENNINGS: Who's the current president and who's in charge? Can you answer?
ETIENNE: But it doesn't matter. The point is --
JENNINGS: OK.
ETIENNE: -- that Donald Trump is showing that he's weak. When you have somebody like Elon Musk making the decisions, I worked in two White Houses, no one gets ahead of the president, or the president-elect. And Elon Musk is.
So for me, this shows a weakness among Donald Trump and it's not the strong footing that he would want to go into right now.
KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The incoming Donald Trump of it all is the reason why there's even a chance that this could succeed on the first ballot. Because when you have the House, but that's really all you have, then really all you can do is stop things from happening.
When Democrats controlled the rest of government, there wasn't much else they could do. Now if Republicans screw this up, they're throwing away an opportunity to govern.
TAPPER: Yes. Let's listen in because the nominating speech is going right now.
REP. LISA MCCLAIN, REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIRWOMAN: -- to present for election to the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress, the name of the Honorable Mike Johnson, a representative from the state of Louisiana.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCLAIN: Welcome everybody. I am optimistic about our future. On November 5th, the American people gave us a great opportunity to get America back on the right track. They gave us an opportunity to get back to normal and to get back to the real issues that the country faces right now.
People want the opportunity to take care of their families. They simply want to provide for their children and give them a prosperous future. And ladies and gentlemen, we have the opportunity today to do just that. We have an opportunity to take our country back.
[12:40:06]
With Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and President Donald J. Trump in charge --
(APPLAUSE)
MCCLAIN: -- we have the opportunity to put America first again.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCLAIN: We have an opportunity to do something about crime. We have an opportunity to do something about the border. And we have an opportunity to take care of our veterans. We and every single member in this chamber and those of you watching at home and on TV should be looking forward knowing that America will be respected again.
Our country is the last bastion of hope. If we fail, then who? This is why we are focused on the issues that the majority of Americans care about. God, family, country, faith, freedom, and traditional American values.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCLAIN: And we should be making it easier for people to achieve the American dream. Over 14 months ago, Mike Johnson took on a daunting task. No speaker is perfect, and no one will ever be. However, achieving perfection requires incremental gains and hard decisions along the way. None of us will get exactly what we want.
The fundamental, collective goal of this body is to make progress for the American people in which we represent. And we have done just that under Mike's leadership. We should be celebrating and building upon his efforts. Our efforts.
Mike has remained the same kind and caring person as he was before he assumed this role. He's an honest broker. He shows you his true beliefs at face value. He is steadfast in his values of faith, family and love of this country.
He knows our brightest are still ahead of us, and I do too. I am hopeful for the next Congress. I am optimistic that we will focus on those issues that people truly care about. I know Mike will be an integral part of this country's comeback. He will lead us through another successful Republican majority.
As Chairwoman of the Unified House Republican Conference, I can say proudly that we are ready to govern.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
(APPLAUSE)
MCCLAIN: It is my honor to present our conference's nominee for the Speaker of the People's House, the Honorable Mike Johnson from the state of Louisiana.
(APPLAUSE)
KEVIN MCCUMBER, ACTING HOUSE CLERK: The clerk now recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. Aguilar.
REP. PETE AGUILAR, DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
(APPLAUSE)
[12:45:06]
AGUILAR: Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. I've had a little bit of practice, and clearly, my colleagues took notice. I rise to place a name in nomination, but first, I want to acknowledge my colleague from Michigan for her heartfelt and personal nominating speech.
As someone who's given a few of these, I can say you served your caucus, your conference well, Representative McClain.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILAR: But, Mr. Clerk, today I rise on behalf of the governing majority of the House of Representatives.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILAR: The American people have sent a strong message that they want their elected leaders working together to tackle the affordability crisis. There is only one leader in this chamber with the track record of compromise, conviction and compassion. There is only one leader who understands the needs of the working people and has lived the American dream himself and is committed to ensuring its promise for future generations.
There is only one leader who knows how to negotiate a bipartisan deal and then stick to that deal.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILAR: House Democrats are united behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber, Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILAR: House Democrats under the leadership of Hakeem Jeffries are committed to bipartisanship and common sense solutions to America's most pressing challenges. In the face of chaos and dysfunction over the last two years, our caucus has kept the government funded, kept our allies protected, and the economy secured from the catastrophic default.
In the 119th Congress, we will work with the incoming administration to make life better, safer and more affordable for working families. And the incoming administration must also recognize that while my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are divided, and while compromise remains a dirty word for so many, Congress won't be able to keep the lights on, let alone pass anything of substance without the buy in and blessing of House Democrats and Hakeem Jeffries.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILAR: Make no mistake, Democrats want to bring down the cost of living, build more housing, and lower the cost of everyday items, like food, medicine, and childcare. Even as the extreme rhetoric rises in this chamber and in the public square, we will not stop advocating for the policies that do the most good for the most people.
Because of Hakeem's leadership, we will never abandon our values or sacrifice our bedrock principles of freedom and democracy. When America's enemies abroad threatened our Democratic ally, Ukraine, when terrorists attacked our strongest ally, Israel, it was Hakeem Jeffries and House Democrats who delivered the votes and stood tall for America's national security.
(APPLAUSE)
AGUILAR: When the least, the lost, and the left behind were threatened with devastating cuts, Hakeem Jeffries stood with America's mothers, children, and veterans. When the incoming administration wanted to raise the debt limit by trillions of dollars in order to finance tax cuts for the wealthy, the well off, and the well connected, leaving middle class families to high -- to pay for the bill and leaving them high and dry, Hakeem Jeffries didn't just say no, he said --
ALL: No, no.
AGUILAR: That's why there is only one true candidate today for Speaker. So Mr. Clerk, I am honored to rise today at the direction of the House Democratic Caucus, to place a denomination for election to the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives, the pride of Brooklyn, the gentleman from New York, Hakeem Jeffries.
(APPLAUSE)
[12:50:22]
ALL: Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem! Hakeem!
MCCUMBER: The names of the Honorable Mike Johnson, a representative- elect from the state of Louisiana and the Honorable Hakeem Jeffries, a representative elect from the state of New York have been placed in nomination. Are there further nominations?
There being no further nominations, the clerk appoints the following tellers. The gentlewoman from North Carolina, Ms. Foxx. The gentleman from New York, Mr. Morelle. The gentleman from Wisconsin, Mr. Steil --
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: And as I do some business before the actual vote for speaker gets started, I want to talk to my colleagues here. Lisa McClain, when nominating Mike Johnson said, quote, "We are ready to govern." To me that kind of sums up the message that they're trying to send to the holdouts. We got to show we're ready to govern, guys.
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF & POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, not much subtlety there.
BASH: Yes.
CHALIAN: It also is exactly what the point in Speaker Johnson's tweets members. And yet as you heard from Lauren Fox reporting, this is not a done deal yet. We do not know that this is going to be resolved for him in the first round. It is an open question. There are still some holdouts. It's about to take place and this may go multiple rounds.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR: And Tim Burchett, of course, who spoke with Lauren Fox earlier this afternoon, is tweeting apparently from the House floor saying that this will go multiple rounds. So predicting that for whatever it's worth.
Now, considering it only takes one additional person on top of Thomas Massie for that to happen, perhaps he's telling us something that we may learn there. But, I mean, again, I think to the point that some of our colleagues were making earlier as well, if you're going to wield power in this kind of an environment, you actually have to be unified.
And this test, I can understand why there are these members who want to kind of make this point, but it does, I think, in the long term, potentially weaken their ability to be able to claim that they can govern as they're arguing on the floor.
BASH: I want to bring in Doug Heye who is now a Republican strategist. But Doug, we met when you were working for Eric Cantor. So you've been through a couple of these, although we should note that aside from what happened two years ago, we haven't had this kind of multiple rounds, actually more than one round in a speaker's vote in over a hundred years.
Tell us your thoughts based on your experience. And as you do, I just want to warn you, if they start voting, I'm going to have to get in there.
DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Be quick, I get it. Look, the Speaker's office is quietly confident, and obviously we've seen more members move in their direction, that makes sense. One thing to look for, whether you're watching this vote on the floor or in the media, the no shows.
As members names are called, we know some are going to vote for Johnson, maybe some against. Some people may not be there. In 2013, when John Boehner was running for Speaker, we got to Bachmann. Michele Bachmann wasn't there. We got to Blackburn. Marsha Blackburn wasn't there.
Even though she was in Washington, both of them were on the -- in the House, they just weren't in the floor. And so, some members may be trying to play some games right now, by being no shows, even though they may just be outside the doors of the House chamber. Watch for that. BASH: Yes, that's interesting because there is, Doug, staying with you for a minute, it's not just no shows, it's intentional. And that's what you're trying to say here. That there is -- there are holdouts, there are attempts to get some last minute -- to do some last minute horse trading.
And the question is whether Mike Johnson is going to play that game. We saw him say that he's not going to do individual deals like Kevin McCarthy did then he tweeted out a -- it's a blanket promise to deal with waste and spending and other things.
HEYE: Yes, look, when Kevin McCarthy made individual deals with members, it didn't just weaken his hand. It showed weakness and members understood that. It made his removable -- his removal inevitable. It's one of the things Mike Johnson smartly wants to avoid.
He has a very small margin of error here. He's trying to do everything that he can to avoid it, but he does have an unruly caucus that wants to cause drama.
BASH: OK, Doug, we're going to go to the floor and listen as the vote begins.
MCCUMBER: The reading clerk will now call the roll.
[12:55:10]
TYLEASE ALLI, HOUSE READING CLERK: Adams?
REP. ALMA ADAMS (D-NC): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Aderholt?
REP. ROBERT ADERHOLT (R-AL): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Aguilar?
AGUILAR: Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Alford?
REP. MARK ALFORD (R-MO): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Allen?
REP. RICK ALLEN (R-GA): The Honorable Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Amo?
REP. GABE AMO (D-RI): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Amodei of Nevada?
REP. MARK AMODEI (R-NV): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Ansari?
REP. YASSAMIN ANSARI (D-AZ): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Arrington?
REP. JODEY ARRINGTON (R-TX): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Auchincloss?
REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Babin?
REP. BRIAN BABIN (R-TX): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bacon?
REP. DON BACON (R-NE): Speaker Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Baird?
REP. JIM BAIRD (R-IN): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Balderson?
REP. TROY BALDERSON (R-OH): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Balint?
REP. BECCA BALINT (D-VT): Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Barr?
REP. ANDY BARR (R-KY): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Barragan?
REP. NANETTE BARRAGAN (D-CA): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Barrett? Barrett? Baumgartner?
REP. TOM BARRETT (R-MI): You said Baird (ph) or Barrett? Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Barrett, Johnson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You go back to Barrett. OK.
ALLI: Barrett?
BARRETT: Barrett, Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Baumgartner?
REP. MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER: Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bean of Florida? REP. AARON BEAN (R-FL): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Beatty?
REP. JOYCE BEATTY (D-OH): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Begich?
REP. NICK BEGICH (R-AK): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bell?
REP. WESLEY BELL (D-MO): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Bentz?
REP. CLIFF BENTZ (R-OR): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bera?
REP. AMI BERA (D-CA): Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Bergman?
REP. JACK BERGMAN (R-MI): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Beyer?
REP. DON BEYER JR. (D-VA): Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Bice?
REP. STEPHANIE BICE (R-OK): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Biggs of Arizona? Biggs of Arizona? Biggs of South Carolina?
REP. SHERI BIGGS (R-SC): President Trump's endorsed candidate Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson.
(APPLAUSE)
ALLI: Bilirakis?
REP. GUS BILIRAKIS (R-FL): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bishop?
REP. SANFORD BISHOP (D-GA): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Boebert?
REP. LAUREN BOEBERT (R-CO): My same (ph) Speaker, Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bonamici?
REP. SUZANNE BONAMICI (D-OR): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Bost?
REP. MIKE BOST (R-IL): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Boyle of Pennsylvania?
REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries Brecheen?
REP. JOSH BRECHEEN (R-OK): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bresnahan?
REP. ROB BRESNAHAN (R-PA): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Brown?
REP. SHONTEL BROWN (D-OH): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Brownley?
REP. JULIA BROWNLEY (D-CA): Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Buchanan?
REP. VERN BUCHANAN (R-FL): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Budzinski?
REP. NIKKI BUDZINSKI (D-IL): Hakeem Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Burchett?
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): Gentleman from Indiana, Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Burlison?
REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Bynum?
REP. JANELLE BYNUM (D-OR): Jeffries.
ALLI: Jeffries. Calvert?
REP. KEN CALVERT (R-CA): Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Cammack?
REP. KAT CAMMACK (R-FL): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. TAPPER: While the voting is going on, there were two individuals, two Republicans that were holdouts. You're waiting to see how they voted. Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee, and Congressman Eric Burlison of Missouri, and both of them did vote for Speaker Johnson, so that's of worth noting.
ALLI: Carter of Georgia?
REP. BUDDY CARTER (R-GA): Mike Johnson.
ALLI: Johnson. Carter of Louisiana?
REP. TROY CARTER (D-LA): Hakeem Jeffries.
