Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) will take the big gavel after his fellow Republicans voted to re-elect him as House speaker Friday afternoon.
Johnson, who has been publicly endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, was able to obtain the minimum 218 votes needed to win the seat 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 initially voted for other candidates to switch their votes to him.
Since Republicans only had a very narrow margin of House control, Johnson could only afford to lose one vote, which he did, to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Massie’s “no” vote was not a surprise; He previously told former Rep. Matt Gaetz that he would literally withstand torture before voting for Johnson. Instead, Massie voted for Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the majority leader and long-time 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 much faster and streamlined process than the previous October 2023 election, in which Johnson was elected by first time.
Although Johnson has not been very outspoken on cryptocurrency issues, he is considered a friend of the industry. He previously voted in favor of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (more commonly known as FIT21) and an anti-central bank digital currency (CBDC) bill.
Johnson’s reelection, and Emmer’s continued position as majority leader, means that pro-cryptocurrency members of Congress are likely well positioned to push cryptocurrency legislation in 2025.
