Shortly after Mike Johnson appeared to be two votes short of retaining the Speaker of the House on Friday, Marjorie Taylor Greene — a staunch Trump ally and ardent Republican congresswoman from Georgia — stood in the middle of the House chamber, talking intently on her cell phone.
Although she covered the device with her hand, sharp Reuters photographer Evelyn Hockstein caught the name of the person on the other end of the conversation – incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
It was a tangible sign of the overwhelming interest President-elect Donald Trump has shown in this vote. Trump enthusiastically endorsed Johnson to be speaker of the upcoming session of Congress earlier this week, and a first-round defeat would be an embarrassment.
Behind the scenes, however, the wheels were turning frantically – creating a chaotic break in the House after Johnson initially appeared headed for at least a temporary defeat.
At one point, Johnson walked out of the hall, followed by two men who had opposed him, Ralph Norman of North Carolina and Keith Self of Texas. Meanwhile, the other members of the House and their families chatted and chatted, waiting to see what would happen next.
When Johnson finally returned, he was all smiles.
Trump himself made a direct appeal to Norman and Self to endorse Johnson via speakerphone, Republican sources told news outlets including Politico.
Since the poll was not officially declared closed, Norman and Self were able to switch their votes for the Louisianan, putting him just short of the 218 points needed to hold the speaker’s gavel. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie was the only Republican resistance.
Both Norman and Self told reporters after the vote that they had spoken with Trump throughout the day.
Norman said he spoke to Trump twice on Friday. The first was during a several-minute phone conversation when Republican colleague Nancy Mace put her phone over to him, and the president-elect was on the other line.
The second time was a longer, 15-minute conversation involving Norman, Johnson and Self, he said, without confirming the exact time.
“Trump was absolutely right when he told me that Mike was the only one with the likability factor,” Norman said.
He went on to describe Trump as an “enthusiastic” Republican trifecta in Washington – control of the House, Senate and presidency.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, I agree with you, I just hope Mike had the courage to pull this off,'” Norman said.
Self also said he spoke with Trump several times on Friday.
“We talked about the whole process,” he said of his conversation with the president-elect.
In the end, an embarrassment was avoided – even if Trump publicly appeared to be more focused on other matters.
Amid the vote, as the names of members of the House of Representatives were called in alphabetical order, the president-elect lamented on social media the possibility of American flags being flown at half-staff during his inauguration on January 20 – part of the traditional mourning process following the death of former President Jimmy Carter.
Friday afternoon’s actions showed just how tenuous the Republican majority in the House of Representatives will be over the coming months.
In addition to the three first-ballot Republicans against Johnson, five other hard-line conservatives — who have opposed compromises Johnson has made with Democrats in the past — delayed voting during the first roll call. Although they eventually relented, it was a very obvious shot across the oratory’s bow.
After the final vote, the House Freedom Caucus — some of whom were among those who dropped out — released a statement explaining that they ultimately backed Johnson because of their support for Trump.
“We have done so despite our sincere reservations about the speaker’s track record over the past 15 months,” they wrote.
The party currently holds a 219-215 lead over Democrats — but that lead could shrink by two if Congresswomen Elise Stefanik of New York and Michael Waltz of Florida fill the administration jobs offered to them by Trump. It will be months before a special election determines their replacements.
That means Trump will have to hold his entire Republican membership in the House together if he wants to pass key parts of his legislative agenda early in his presidency, including tough immigration reforms, new tariffs and tax and spending cuts.
As Friday showed, this could be a tall order.
Additional reporting by Rachel Looker
