President-elect Trump successfully rallied House Republicans on Friday to re-elect House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. — overcoming deep intraparty divisions and quieting concerns over Trump’s ability to unify the party following the spectacular collapse of a government spending bill late last month.
That bill, which saw 38 Republican defectors and threatened a partial government shutdown, touched off fears that Trump’s once-ironclad grip on the Republican Party could be waning — concerns that were quickly put to rest Friday evening after Trump managed to secure the majority votes for a House speaker whose party holds just a razor-thin majority in the chamber and who faced vehement opposition from House Freedom Caucus members.
Three Republicans originally voted against Johnson and seven other members remained silent. Republicans’ razor-thin majority allowed Johnson just one GOP defector, and after the first round of voting, it was unclear if, or how, the party could overcome the odds.
MIKE JOHNSON RE-ELECTED HOUSE SPEAKER AS GOP MUTINY THREAT DISSOLVES
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., left, shakes hands with President-elect Trump at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 13, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
In the end, all but one holdout changed their vote, with many crediting Trump directly as a sign of his continued influence in the party.
At least two of the Republican holdouts who reversed course to back Johnson as speaker said they did so after multiple conversations with Trump.
Trump spoke by phone with both Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, after they had initially voted for people other than Johnson for speaker.
Self, one of the two holdouts who changed his “no” vote on Johnson to a “yes” vote, told reporters on Friday that he came to the decision after multiple phone conversations with the president-elect.
“This was all about how we make the Trump agenda successful,” Self told reporters of his decision to back Johnson. “We have to be strong as a Republican conference in order to make the Trump agenda as successful as possible. That’s what this was all about.”
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., for a procedural vote on a motion to vacate against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Oct. 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Norman also later confirmed to reporters that he spoke with Trump. “He just made his point about how Mike is the only one…
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