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Republican Mike Johnson elected House speaker after dramatic vote reversals
Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana was reelected speaker of the House of Representatives on Friday on the first ballot after two of his three fellow Republicans who initially voted for other caucus members switched their votes to him.
Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas flipped their votes to Johnson after huddling with him near the House floor as the chamber’s clerk kept the ballot open for more than an hour.
Only one Republican, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky, voted for someone else — Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota — in the final tally, which gave Johnson the minimum 218 votes he needed to win.
Neither Emmer nor the other Republicans whom Norman and Self first voted for — Jim Jordan of Ohio and Byron Donalds of Florida — had been nominated for or sought the …