In a surprising turn of events, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly swayed two of the three GOP votes that initially went against Rep. Mike Johnson in the House Speaker election on Friday.
This came on the heels of Trump's endorsement of Johnson prior to the vote. A number of members also held back from voting, only to later throw their support behind Johnson in the first round.
As reported by The Post Millennial, when Johnson faced opposition from Reps. Keith Self (R-TX) and Ralph Norman (R-SC), who initially voted for Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) respectively, Nancy Mace (R-SC) made a last-minute call to Trump before a second round of voting was set to commence. Other representatives, including Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Andy Harris (R-VA), and Chip Roy (R-TX), initially refrained from voting but eventually rallied behind Johnson.
Mace and Johnson met with the two GOP lawmakers in an office just outside the House chamber, where Trump was on speakerphone, ready to address the two dissenters. Prior to the vote on Friday, Trump had expressed his support for Johnson on Truth Social, stating, "Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support. A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! - A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!"
According to Real Clear Politics, Trump admonished the two lawmakers in the office, stating, He had the most historic election, and you guys are stepping all over it by being ridiculous. He further criticized them, saying, I won all these swing states, but while Democrats are over there sticking together, you two guys are screwing it all up. The American people want relief and the Trump agenda.
Trump cautioned that any rebellion against Johnson was tantamount to a rebellion against his own agenda. Following the conversation, Norman and Self returned to the floor to alter their votes, thereby achieving the required threshold of 218 votes to secure Johnson's position as House Speaker. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had garnered 215 votes from the Democrats.
When questioned about the call by journalists, Self described it as a "very good discussion about how to advance the Trump agenda." He further elaborated, "The Republicans have to do better in the House. The last two years have been a disaster. We passed bills with Democrat votes, lots of Democrat votes just since Trump won the election. Congress has passed $300 plus billion in new borrowed money spending. We needed to get the attention of the American people that we are going to be behind the Trump agenda going through Congress. We have got to do a better job. That's what it was about. Now, President Trump and I..we had a very good discussion."
Self added, "[Trump] understands the concerns of the people, Frankly, the people who withheld their votes or voted no are the biggest Trump supporters, the people who stand behind him to close the border, to control spending. So that's what we had to do. We had to get the attention of people to say we must do better."
With the conclusion of the House Speaker election, the 119th Congress has officially commenced, and new members were sworn in by Johnson following the vote on Friday. This event underscores the influence of Trump's endorsement and the importance of unity within the Republican Party in advancing its agenda.
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