Speaker of the House, Republican Mike Johnson fell short in his bid to retain the top post in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday.
With voting still ongoing, at least three Republicans voted against Johnson, likely leaving the incumbent House speaker short of the majority he needs to remain in the job.
Republicans control the chamber by a razor-thin 219-215 majority. According to the "time-freezing" rules of the American Congress, members still had a chance to change their vote or to cast a vote if they had abstained.
House Republicans have been defined by internal divisions over the last two years. Johnson was elevated to speaker after the party ousted Kevin McCarthy mid-term.
The House went through 15 rounds of voting over four days in 2023 before finally electing McCarthy speaker.
The conservative Christian lawyer Louisiana representative emerged as a consensus pick, but has since struggled to keep his party unified
Ahead of the vote, Johnson - arguiably the most conservative Speaker of the House in modern American history - said he would keep trying if he fell short on the first round of balloting. .So far, no other Republican has publicly hinted at challenging Johnson for the role.
Johnson has sought to build a close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, who endorsed him on Monday following weeks of uncertainty.
"A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party," Trump posted online on Friday. Trump returns to the White House on Inauguration Day, January 20th.
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The fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal is again stirring debate in Britain. Could the repercussions of the disgraced U.S. financier and convicted child sex trafficker force greater political accountability in the UK - or will they fade as yet another passing Westminster storm?
A delegation from Georgia's ruling party visits Washington for a Congress and sovereignty summit this week, however analysts say Georgia remains largely absent from current U.S. regional priorities.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 26 May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The World Health Organization warned on Monday that the fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was outpacing response efforts, with 220 suspected deaths reported so far.
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Shortly after nine o’clock on Tuesday morning (26 May), a sleek white train eased into Tbilisi’s central railway station, a couple of minutes behind schedule, carrying passengers from Baku for the first time since 2020.
Latvia is strengthening its anti-drone capabilities along its borders with Russia and Moscow-allied Belarus after several drones entered the NATO member’s airspace, according to a senior military official.
Britain and Poland are set to sign a new defence and security treaty on Wednesday (27 May), deepening cooperation between the two NATO allies as European governments respond to what they describe as a growing range of hostile threats across the continent.
Chinese investigators have uncovered hidden tunnels, missing worker trackers and fake underground walls during an initial investigation into the country’s deadliest mining disaster in more than 15 years.
Europe continues to swelter in a record-breaking heatwave, with France recording its hottest day in May and Britain breaking a temperature record for the second time in 24 hours.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 27 May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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