Mike Johnson reelected as House speaker with support from President-elect Donald Trump

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson won back his job for another term on Friday after a nail-biter finish and now has the daunting task of trying to unify a fractured but potentially powerful group of Republican lawmakers anxious to implement President-elect Donald Trump's agenda upon his return to the White House later this month.

The final vote of 218-215-1 may reflect the Congress to come: One where the stakes are high, Republicans are about to hold all the levers of power in Washington but internal divisions constantly threaten to boil over, and Trump's opinion rules the day.

Johnson ultimately secured the speakership with the support of every sitting House Republican except for Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who had pledged not to vote for the Louisiana congressman weeks ago. Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas also had initially voted for someone other than Johnson but changed their minds after talking with Trump by phone and the 52-year-old speaker just off the House floor.

“President Trump has the same emphasis that I do -  the Trump agenda," Self told reporters on Friday after he changed his vote. "That's all I wanted to do today, is to make this Congress successful for the Trump agenda."

Despite Johnson's ultimate win, this is not how most Republicans wanted to kick off a new Congress under total GOP control. With the Jan. 6 certification of Trump's victory right around the corner and the presidential inauguration in 17 days, lawmakers have little time to lose.

More than a dozen Republican House members had publicly been airing their frustrations with Johnson since a last-minute deal to avoid a government shutdown in December kicked up old concerns about year-end spending deals. A handful of those members changed their tune after Trump gave Johnson his "complete and total endorsement" on Monday, including Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Texas and Josh Brecheen, R-Okla.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. – who previously led an effort to oust Johnson from the speakership and in December suggested Trump ally Elon Musk would make a better speaker – urged her colleagues to support Johnson in a video posted to X Thursday night, arguing that Republicans fought hard to get Trump into office.

"All of you are sick and tired and fed up of the drama and all of the garbage that comes out of Washington, D.C.," Greene said. "It's time to do whatever it takes to make sure that we deliver the mandate that the American people told us to do. I cannot wait to get started. I'll be voting for Mike Johnson."

A suspenseful vote

For about two hours on Friday, comments like Greene's weren't enough to satisfy Johnson's fellow Republicans. Adding to the suspense and signaling Johnson's challenge ahead, a handful of GOP lawmakers-elect didn’t announce votes when their names were initially called during the first round of Friday's speaker balloting.

Five of those early Johnson holdouts were Andy Biggs of Arizona, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Andy Harris of Maryland and Chip Roy of Texas. The bearded Harris could be seen in the back of the chamber studiously not responding when his name was called. Sitting next to Johnson, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana jotted notes as votes were announced.

Those five Republicans ultimately did change their votes to support Johnson, who had tried to avert a standoff by posting a list of commitments ahead of the roll call that was akin to those demanded by former detractors like Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind.

Johnson promised to create a working group of "independent experts" to recommend spending reforms and audit federal agencies created by Congress, and to direct House committees to investigate agencies and people accountable who "have weaponized government against the American people."

"If we don’t follow through on our campaign promise for fiscal responsibility, we don’t deserve to hold power," Johnson wrote in the post. "Along with advancing President Trump’s America First agenda, I will lead the House Republicans to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory."

The other Republicans who backed Johnson on Friday signaled their support largely had to do with who was most capable of getting Trump's legislative priorities through Congress. Both Self and Norman, for example, confirmed they'd spoken with Trump about the topic during Friday's vote.

“He made a point about how Mike’s the only one who could get elected, he’s likable, which I knew that,” Norman told reporters when asked about his conversation with Trump. “We just impressed on Mike the seriousness … Is he going to fight? And that was our whole question.”

Johnson's lone "no" vote ultimately came from Massie, who on Friday got sworn in for an eighth term. The Kentucky congressman had long signaled his opposition to the speaker's re-election, even despite Trump's support or with other concessions.

“You can pull all my fingernails out. You can shove bamboo up in them. You can start cutting off my fingers. I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow, and you can take that to the bank," Massie said Thursday night during an appearance on former Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz's One America News program.

Spending fight still shadows speaker

Two weeks ago, with a government shutdown approaching on Dec. 20, Johnson had struck a bipartisan deal to pass a more than 1,500-page funding extension and myriad additional policies.

Musk urged Republicans to vote against the deal, and Trump quickly followed suit with an additional demand that Congress raise the debt ceiling – a Herculean task with only days left before the shutdown deadline and Democrats in charge of the Senate and White House.

Johnson scrambled to put together a deal that could appease Trump, keep the government open and pass the House, but it failed on the floor with the help of 38 Republicans. The final bill, stripped of Trump's debt ceiling demand and most additional policies, passed with Democrats' help. Thirty four Republicans voted against it.

When the dust cleared, several House Republicans were openly skeptical about supporting Johnson for another two years in leadership - and exposing a potential significant friction point for Trump's second-term agenda. Around a dozen remained publicly undecided as the House convened to vote Friday.

Johnson and Trump could have faced a constitutional crisis had the House failed to elect a speaker on Friday. Any paralysis could have complicated the counting of Electoral College votes that is set to take place on Monday.

The last time House Republicans couldn’t elect a speaker was not a distant memory for most lawmakers: The chamber was paralyzed for three weeks in October 2023, when a rebel Republican faction kicked McCarthy out of the speakership and failed to coalesce around a successor.

Many Republicans did not want to repeat that process, especially now that they have a coveted trifecta in Washington and a narrow window to act on Trump's agenda.

Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump congratulated Johnson "for receiving an unprecedented Vote of Confidence in Congress."

"Mike will be a Great Speaker, and our Country will be the beneficiary," the former and future president added. "The People of America have waited four years for Common Sense, Strength, and Leadership. They’ll get it now, and America will be greater than ever before!"

Sudiksha Kochi and Savannah Kuchar contributed to this report.

(This story has been updated with more information and new photos.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mike Johnson reelected as Speaker of the House with Trump's support