House speaker: GOP picks Rep. Mike Johnson as new nominee

House Republicans on Tuesday night selected Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as their next nominee for speaker of the House, hours after Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota was picked but dropped out of the race.

Johnson won the nomination in private balloting during a closed door conference meeting. When the House convenes at noon Wednesday ahead of a floor vote, Johnson will need almost all Republicans in the public roll call to win the gavel.

“Mike! Mike! Mike!” lawmakers chanted at a news conference afterward, surrounding Johnson and posing for selfies in a show of support.

Three weeks on, the Republicans have been frittering away their majority status — a maddening embarrassment to some, democracy in action to others, but not at all how the House typically functions.