Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina) reportedly announced their vote for Speaker of the House of Representatives after being contacted by President-elect Donald Trump. He has reportedly switched to House Speaker Johnson (R-Louisiana). .
Mr. Self initially voted for Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.) as Speaker of the House, making it the sole vote for the Florida House of Representatives, while Mr. Norman voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). supported. Having already lost the support of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Mr. Johnson's first-ballot candidacy would be threatened if either Self or Norman supported the vote for the other member. It would have been a failure.
Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman said lawmakers backed Johnson after Trump gave them a “yes” vote, even though the first round of votes was still being accepted. It is said that he changed his vote to do so.
“Donald Trump consulted with Representatives Ralph Norman and Keith Self after they voted against Mike Johnson's candidacy for Speaker,” Sherman wrote. “Self and Norman then voted for Johnson.”
Mr. Johnson initially received 216 votes on the first ballot, with 215 members voting for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), with Mr. Massey, Mr. Norman and Mr. Self voting for the others. I voted for the MP. But after his conversation with Trump was reported, Norman and Self assessed that Johnson had passed the 218-vote threshold needed for the gavel.
Mr. Johnson retained his chairmanship, but Massey, Norman, Self and six other Republicans who had withheld their votes for him until after the polls appeared to send him a message Friday. One major change from the 118th Congress is the increased threshold required to invoke a motion to vacate, a mechanism that members can use to remove the speaker.
In the 118th Congress, one lawmaker could move to resign, but in the 119th Congress, that number was raised to nine, making it much more difficult to force a floor vote. But the apparently passive eight votes and Massey's anti-Johnson vote indicate that there is some influence among these members and that they have the numbers to unite against Johnson if they wish. .
President Trump congratulated Johnson after he won the gavel.
“Congratulations to Speaker Mike Johnson on receiving an unprecedented vote of confidence in Congress. Mike will be a great Speaker and our country will benefit from it,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
