House GOP nominates Johnson for speaker, taps McClain for conference chair

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Wednesday selected Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain as the next Republican conference chair, bringing a whirlwind race for the conference’s fourth-ranking leadership post to a close.

The pick came during an hours-long meeting in which House Republicans also again nominated Mike Johnson, R-La., for speaker.

McClain, who currently serves as conference secretary of the House GOP, beat out Florida Rep. Kat Cammack to win the position. She will replace New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, who served two terms as conference chair and is now poised to be President-elect Donald Trump’s next ambassador to the United Nations.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota also sailed to reelection on Wednesday and will continue to serve in their positions during the 119th Congress.

Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina won a second term as chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, and Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern defeated Alabama Rep. Gary Palmer in the race for policy committee chairman. Palmer had previously served three terms in the role.

The elections came during a day when GOP House members made it clear that they accepted Trump as the indisputable leader of the party. Given a GOP majority expected to be extremely narrow — even narrower with Wednesday’s news that Trump would nominate Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general — lawmakers vowed to unite behind Trump.

“If Donald Trump says jump 3 feet high and scratch your head, we all jump 3 feet high and scratch our heads,” said Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas. “He’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.”

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Trump’s message to members was “we’re going to move fast, hang together, be a team.”

It was “kind of a ‘rah-rah’ address, which is about what I expected,” Cole said. “It’s not the place to lay out a policy agenda, and he certainly didn’t do that.”

But multiple House Republicans made it clear that Trump’s message of unity Wednesday was limited largely to his own party.

As reporters and members clogged the hotel lobby where the House GOP huddled Wednesday, several GOP members said the incoming president had a mandate from voters — and Republican lawmakers should do anything he asks in pursuit of their now-shared agenda.

“He wants us unified,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., adding that the president-elect stuck to “the big issues,” including “the border and deportation,” and finishing his long-proposed southern border wall.

Trump was accompanied by Elon Musk, the billionaire who threw his support behind Trump and will now lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, as well as Susie Wiles, who served as Trump’s campaign co-chair and will be his chief of staff. Musk did not address the crowd, although he received an enthusiastic ovation.

“Elon Musk has been able to do things NASA hasn’t been able to do,” Nehls said. “He’s got a 10-pound brain, and we need to take advantage of that knowledge and skill set.”

Several representatives told reporters that Trump’s appearance, at times, resembled one of his political rallies. To that end, the former reality television host dropped another bombastic line, suggesting he might ask Republican lawmakers to scrap the two-term limit on being president: “I suspect I won’t be running again — unless you say, ‘He’s good, we’ve got to figure something else,’” Trump said, according to a pool report.

Just days before House Republicans’ leadership elections, the event looked to be fairly uncontroversial: Republicans appeared on track to retain control of the chamber, and the party’s incumbents were running to remain in their roles.

However, Trump tapped Stefanik for the U.N. on Monday, setting up a last-minute race to replace the five-term representative in House GOP leadership that McClain eventually won.

House Republicans are deciding on their leaders even as the scope of their majority remains unknown: As of press time, Republicans held 217 seats while Democrats had 207, according to The Associated Press, with 11 races yet to be called.

While the AP had yet to call the House as of press time, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement late Wednesday acknowledging that his party would not regain the House majority and congratulating House Republicans.

Complicating matters, Trump had pulled at least three incumbent House members for his Cabinet as of late Wednesday: Stefanik, Michael Waltz of Florida, who is Trump’s pick for national security adviser, and Matt Gaetz of Florida, whom Trump selected to be his attorney general nominee on Wednesday.

Despite Wednesday’s House GOP vote, a thin GOP majority could again make it essential for Johnson to rally his votes and secure attendance of his members to hold on to the job.

The speaker election is slated for Jan. 3.