How Mike Johnson clinched the speakership — with an assist from Trump

Speaker Mike Johnson will continue to lead House Republicans in the 119th Congress, a victory for the Louisiana Republican and for President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.

The win came after a tense standoff with Republican lawmakers and a phone call from Trump to two members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, highlighting the soon-to-be president’s sway over the fractious House Republican majority.

Trump threw his weight behind Johnson earlier this week, but three Republicans voted against his wishes on Friday: Reps. Thomas Massie (Kentucky), Ralph Norman (South Carolina) and Keith Self (Texas). When it became clear that Johnson did not have the votes, House Republicans began to call Trump and his key allies to urge them to convince the holdouts.

Massie had been staunchly against Johnson’s leadership and signaled to his colleagues that he would not flip. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) called Trump, who was golfing, and passed her phone to Norman, Norman said. Trump also spoke with Self and helped convince both to change their votes for Johnson, according to several lawmakers.

Johnson huddled privately with Self and Norman, and they took another call from Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Then Johnson and his allies gathered with the holdouts and other Freedom Caucus members, emerging victorious as Norman and Self changed their votes.

In the end, it took Johnson just one ballot to clinch the necessary 218 votes, while all 215 Democrats supported Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York).

The dramatic turnaround was a significant boost for Johnson, who will be spared - for now - from the kind of protracted battle that saw former congressman Kevin McCarthy (R-California) spend days hashing out deals only to lose 14 rounds of voting before he won the gavel.

Though having the speaker decision sorted will help Republicans focus on policy, Friday’s vote hinted at just how hard it will be for Johnson to keep fellow Republicans in line through the months ahead.

In addition to the three initial votes against Johnson, six other lawmakers withheld their vote in the first round, signaling skepticism. A total of nine House Republicans used the vote to show displeasure with Johnson - a significant number because it will now take that many Republicans to trigger a vote to remove the speaker.

“That was about making clear to the conference that there’s a bloc of folks who are going to want to make sure that we actually deliver,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a key holdout who ultimately voted for Johnson. He added that “there will be consequences” if Republicans rely on Democrats in future negotiations or do not seize chances to reduce federal spending.

Norman recounted telling Trump directly that it will take “his personality” to ensure that House Republicans take aim at fiscal spending and the deficit.

Johnson spent the past week trying to persuade roughly a dozen Republicans who remained skeptical of his candidacy, reaching them by phone and holding in-person meetings as late as Friday morning. Trump heaped praise on Johnson, casting him as key to enacting conservative policies.

“President Trump is probably the most powerful president. … And his voice and his influence is of singular importance,” Johnson said after successfully winning reelection. “I think that was a big factor.”

Other notable Trump allies and officials rallied around Johnson ahead of the vote. Trump’s former chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, took to his popular podcast, “War Room,” to urge members to line up behind the Louisiana Republican.

“He’s the least offensive, and there is no alternative,” Bannon told listeners. And Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, called members directly to whip support for Johnson, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Hogan Gidley, a Johnson adviser and former Trump administration official, has spent months elevating Johnson’s profile in MAGA-world in an effort to nurture the relationship between Trump and the Louisiana lawmaker. From inside the Capitol, he ensured their teams coordinated on ways to whip support for Johnson, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues.

A Trump transition official familiar with the conversations between Trump, Self and Norman speaking on the condition of anonymity to candidly describe private conservations said the president-elect worked the two lawmakers “pretty hard” and reminded them that certifying the 2024 presidential election on Monday is necessary to quickly enact his ambitious agenda. A second person familiar with the conversation said Trump told them that they were standing in the way of the GOP’s opportunity to do “something big and consequential” after a historic election.

“You guys are screwing it up,” the person said, summarizing Trump’s message to them.

In a stark departure from his predecessor, Johnson refused to cut backroom deals with members to win their support. But Norman and Self said that the speaker did pledge to involve more Republicans from across the ideological spectrum in negotiations and would try to avoid making deals with Democratic leaders.

“I told them that they can be assured that we’re going to have different processes and procedures this time around because it’s unified government,” Johnson said. “Republicans have control of the Senate and the White House and the House, so it’s a very different situation than the last Congress was - and they can hold me accountable to that.”

Now that Johnson has been reelected, Republicans will turn to policymaking. House Republicans will spend Saturday at Fort McNair near the Capitol to discuss what policies should be part of two large legislative packages that Trump wants Congress to pass this year, according to multiple lawmakers and aides. On Sunday, Johnson will meet with the chairs of all five ideological factions in the GOP conference to continue the conversation.

In his reelection speech, Johnson pledged that Republicans will send more aid to border agents, deport undocumented migrants who have committed crimes in the United States, finish building the wall between the U.S.-Mexico border and “restore America’s energy dominance.”

“You said you’d work with us on that, Hakeem. I’m counting on it,” Johnson said, referencing the House minority leader.

Johnson also said Republicans will “extend Trump’s tax cuts,” which the president-elect would like Congress to tackle later this year.

Before they can try, the GOP-led House and Senate face an imminent deadline to lift the debt ceiling. It’s unclear how quickly Republicans can reach a compromise and whether they will vote to do so before Trump is inaugurated, as he has requested.

“We have a mandate, and that was shown in the election cycle. The people want an ‘America First’ agenda,” Johnson said Friday. “We cannot fail. We are all in this together. Our nation is counting on us to band together and solve these problems and get this done.”

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Mariana Alfaro, Jacob Bogage and Paul Kane contributed to this report.