Newly Elected House Speaker Vows to 'Drastically' Slash the Size of Government

WASHINGTON - Republican Mike Johnson (LA) was reelected House Speaker on Friday in a dramatic floor vote on the first day of the new Congress. He won on the first ballot despite a few GOP holdouts, buoyed to victory with another nod of support from President-elect Donald Trump.

Johnson is vowing to 'drastically' slash the size of government as Republicans take power in both houses of Congress.

Friday was Opening Day on Capitol Hill after Republicans won majorities in both chambers, and they've got a lot of business to handle before President-elect Donald Trump takes his second oath of office in 17 days. 

"We don’t have time for drama,” Johnson said as he walked into the Capitol after working hard in recent days to shore up support for his bid.

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There had been questions about whether Republicans would rally around Speaker Johnson or push for a new Speaker. To keep his seat, Johnson needed support from almost every House Republican since they hold such a slim majority in the new Congress. After December's spending bill fiasco, some party members had expressed doubts he should remain speaker. Rep. Thomas Massy had vowed to oppose him while several other Republicans were non-committal.

In the end, the Louisiana Republican received a renewed nod of support from Trump. “A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party,” Trump posted on social media.

Erin Covey, House Editor at the Cook Political Report, said Republicans wanted to elect a Speaker quickly, which may have increased Johnson's odds. "They need to certify the results of the election, and I don't think anyone wants to delay that too much, and they need a speaker in order to do that," said Covey.

In addition, their slim majority may soon shrink by three, with Matt Gaetz's departure, and Representatives Mike Walls and Elise Stefanik likely to join Trump's cabinet.

The Republican Agenda in Congress

"President Trump will return to D.C. and to the White House, and we will have Republican control of the Senate and the House. Things are going to be very different around here," Speaker Johnson said beforehand.

Covey says the administration will want to pass as much legislation as possible in the next two years due to the risk of losing the House in the midterms.

"This time, the Trump team and the people he surrounds himself with are a lot more loyal, a lot more, in lockstep with his own priorities," said Covey. "So I think they could potentially be able to get more done than they were able to do in the first administration."

The GOP in the new Congress has three main priorities:

•  Renewing Trump's tax cuts from 2017
•  Passing a Border Security Bill 
•  Rolling back Biden administration energy regulations

"There's only certain types of legislation that can pass through reconciliation. So, there's now a question of whether or not they try to do this in one major bill, or whether or not they try to split it up into two bills, and tackle border security and energy," said Covey.

Meanwhile, two incoming senators are making history by bringing greater representation to Congress.

Democrats Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland and Lisa Blunt-Rochester from Delaware become the first two black women to serve in the Senate at once.
 
"The Senate has historically been less diverse than the House. It's a smaller body, and their members are elected to longer term," said Covey.  "So, it has been whiter and more dominated by men than the House."

As for Opening Day's agenda, after a House Speaker is elected, members can be sworn in and rules will be considered. One of those rules would make it harder to challenge a Speaker once elected. It would require nine Republicans for a motion forcing a vote on ousting the Speaker instead of just one as it currently stands.