In dramatic fashion, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly aided Mike Johnson in winning the Speaker of the House vote. Johnson was not originally forecast to secure enough votes for the win, with three Republicans choosing to oppose him and Johnson needing no more than one GOP defection. However, as he mentioned earlier, Trump wielded his influence to push Johnson over the edge for the victory.
How did Donald Trump secure Mike Johnson’s win as House Speaker?
Donald Trump assisted Mike Johnson by flipping representatives Ralph Norman and Keith Self, according to multiple sources to CNN.
On the first ballot, there were three GOP defections, with Norman voting for Jim Jordan, Self voting for Byron Donalds, and Thomas Massie voting for Tom Emmer. Johnson needed to speak with the three holdouts in hopes of changing their support. Johnson’s ally, Stephanie Bice, stated that he was meeting with Norman and Self before the gavel brought the first vote to a close.
To assist, Nancy Mace reportedly called Trump, who then spoke directly to the two representatives. The President-elect stated to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve, per The Independent, that he would make phone calls to Republicans who planned on opposing Johnson as speaker. Trump endorsed Johnson for speaker earlier in the week despite them splitting over an issue involving the debt ceiling.
Moreover, Johnson said he didn’t need to make any promises to Self and Norman for their support. Thomas Massie did not change his opposition.
Trump later congratulated Johnson for his victory, posting on social media that his win was “unprecedented” and that he would be “a Great Speaker.” In his first remarks after keeping the speakership, Johnson said that “the number one priority” of Congress would be securing the border “in coordination with President Trump.”
That said, Johnson faces a tough challenge in Congress with the Republicans holding a narrow House majority. With Matt Gaetz opting not to return to Congress and representatives Elise Stefanik and Mike Waltz potentially becoming a part of Trump’s cabinet, the 119th Congress would have 217 Republicans and 215 Democrats. Thus, a majority would require 217 votes, meaning that Johnson would not be able to afford to lose a single Republican in the House for a vote along party lines.
