House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged Republicans' defeat in the fight for the House on election night, telling supporters at a "Team Johnson" event that he shared their frustration as Democrats were projected to take control of the chamber. Before turning to the results, he made a point of crediting the White House.
"I want to thank President Trump and Vice President Vance," Johnson said. "This was a team effort. It really was."
The Louisiana Republican, who has led the House since October 2023, went on to defend the record of his narrow majority: "I am really proud of what we were able to do in the last two years."
"Nowhere close to being finished"
Johnson insisted that losing the majority would not change his party's mission. "Our job is nowhere close to being finished yet," he said. "The outcome of an election doesn't change that a bit."
He did not hide the mood in the room, telling the crowd in four words: "I am disappointed too."
Then he looked ahead two years, to the next presidential election: "Come 2028, we will take back the House, and we will finish this job."
A Democratic House in January
CNN, CBS, ABC and NBC News all projected that Democrats would win both the House and the Senate, and MS NOW estimated that Democrats had won at least 245 of the 435 House seats. With Democrats in the majority, the speaker's gavel is set to pass to their party when the new Congress convenes in January; the Democratic caucus is led by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
The stakes were clear to Johnson before a single vote was cast. In the run-up to the election, he acknowledged that losing the House would effectively end President Donald Trump's legislative agenda, The Daily Beast reported. A Democratic House will now be able to block legislation and open investigations for the final two years of Trump's term.
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