October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
Updated: 5/20/2026, 8:04:46 PM Wikipedia source
On October 17, 2023, following the October 3 removal of Republican Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, members of the U . House of Representatives began the process of holding an intra-term election for speaker of the House. The election concluded on October 25, 2023 when Republican Mike Johnson of Louisiana was elected the 56th speaker of the House on the fourth ballot. In the 118th Congress, the House Republican Conference held the majority of seats. McCarthy had been elected speaker on January 7, 2023, after an unusual fifteen rounds of voting in the January speakership election. On October 3, a motion to vacate McCarthy's speakership passed by a vote of 216–210, with eight Republican representatives voting along with all Democrats to remove McCarthy. This was the first time in congressional history the House voted to remove an incumbent speaker during an active congressional legislative session. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, also a Republican, served as speaker pro tempore until a new speaker was elected. Hakeem Jeffries of New York was unanimously nominated for speaker by the House Democratic Caucus on October 10. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana was nominated by the House Republican Conference on October 11, but he withdrew from the race the next day. Jim Jordan of Ohio was nominated on a second internal Republican conference vote on October 13. On October 20, after Jordan failed to be elected speaker in three separate votes, the House Republican Conference voted to remove him as the Republican Party's nominee for speaker. On October 24, the conference nominated Majority Whip Tom Emmer for speaker. Emmer withdrew his candidacy shortly after Republican former president Donald Trump voiced his opposition to it. Later on October 24, Louisiana representative and conference vice chair Mike Johnson was selected as the next nominee for the speakership. On October 25, Johnson was elected speaker, defeating Jeffries in a 220–209 vote. Unlike previous ballots, no Republicans defected, and every representative present voted for their party's nominee for Speaker.
Infobox
Tables
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Steve Scalise Y | 113 | 51 % |
| Jim Jordan | 99 | 45 % |
| Other candidates | 8 | 3 % |
| Present | 3 | —N/a |
| Did not vote | 1 | —N/a |
| Candidate | Votes | Percent |
| Jim Jordan Y | 124 | 58 % |
| Austin Scott | 81 | 38 % |
| Other candidates | 7 | 3 % |
| Present | 1 | —N/a |
| Did not vote | 11 | —N/a |
| Votes | Percent | |
| Yes Y | 152 | 73 % |
| No | 55 | 26 % |
| Present | 1 | —N/a |
| Did not vote | 16 | —N/a |
| Party | Candidate | District | 1st ballot October 17 | 2nd ballot October 18 | 3rd ballot October 20 | ||||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| Democratic | Hakeem Jeffries | NY 8 | 212 | 49 % | 212 | 49 % | 210 | 49 % | |
| Republican | Jim Jordan | OH 4 | 200 | 46 % | 199 | 46 % | 194 | 45 % | |
| Republican | Steve Scalise | LA 1 | 7 | 1 % | 7 | 1 % | 8 | 1 % | |
| Republican | Patrick McHenry | NC 10 | —N/a | 6 | 1 % | ||||
| Republican | Lee Zeldin | —N/a | 3 | 0 % | 3 | 0 % | 4 | 0 % | |
| Republican | Kevin McCarthy | CA 20 | 6 | 1 % | 5 | 1 % | 2 | 0 % | |
| Republican | Byron Donalds | FL 19 | —N/a | 1 | 0 % | 2 | 0 % | ||
| Republican | Tom Emmer | MN 6 | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | |
| Republican | Mike Garcia | CA 27 | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | |
| Republican | Bruce Westerman | AR 4 | —N/a | 1 | 0 % | 1 | 0 % | ||
| Republican | John Boehner | —N/a | —N/a | 1 | 0 % | —N/a | |||
| Republican | Kay Granger | TX 12 | —N/a | 1 | 0 % | —N/a | |||
| Republican | Candice Miller | —N/a | —N/a | 1 | 0 % | —N/a | |||
| Republican | Tom Cole | OK 4 | 1 | 0 % | —N/a | ||||
| Republican | Thomas Massie | KY 4 | 1 | 0 % | —N/a | ||||
| Total votes | 432 | 100% | 433 | 100% | 429 | 100% | |||
| Absent | 1 | —N/a | 0 | —N/a | 4 | —N/a | |||
| Vacant | 2 | —N/a | 2 | —N/a | 2 | —N/a | |||
| Votes needed to win | 217 | >50% | 217 | >50% | 215 | >50% | |||
| Votes | Percent | |
| Remove Y | 112 | 56 % |
| Retain | 86 | 43 % |
| Present | 5 | —N/a |
| Did not vote | 21 | —N/a |
References
- Elected as Republican conference nominee after the third ballot.
- Removed as nominee after third ballot.
- Patrick McHenry (Republican) as speaker pro tempore.
- The three Republican territorial delegates were allowed to vote in the conference.
- Former member of the House.
- Kevin McCarthy received 33 votes; Jim Jordan received 1 vote.
- Kevin McCarthy received 43 votes; Jim Jordan received 1 vote.
- Unverified number; calculated.
- Bilirakis missed the first ballot to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law.
- Boyle missed the fourth ballot as he was en route back to DC after going home to be with his wife for her surgery.
- Correa missed the fourth ballot due to a family emergency.
- Gonzalez missed the third and fourth ballots due to a death in his family.
- Hunt missed the third ballot for undisclosed reasons.
- Payne missed the third ballot due to what was described as a "minor health issue". Payne died six months later.
- Van Orden missed the third and fourth ballots as he embarked on what he described as a "fact-finding mission" in Israel.
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/10/03/us/mccarthy-gaetz-speaker-news/kevin-mccarthy-speaker
- NBC Newshttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-nominate-mike-johnson-house-speaker-latest-attempt-break-g-rcna122019
- CNNhttps://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/house-speaker-vote-10-25-23/index.html
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/02/us/politics/mccarthy-gaetz-house-speaker.html
- The New York Timeshttps://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/09/30/us/government-shutdown-news