‘The Trump Effect’: How Trump Wrangled Republicans And Won Mike Johnson The Speakership

Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson secured back-to-back terms as House speaker on Friday after President-elect Donald Trump intervened to pressure GOP holdouts.

Trump began Friday prior to the speakership vote by calling House Republicans who were shaky or undecided on Johnson serving another term as speaker. By the time of the vote, only three holdouts remained, one of which, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, had already been tallied as a loss by the Trump team.

The other two holdouts, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, agreed to switch their votes and support Johnson after a phone meeting with Trump, according to Fox News’ Chad Pergram.

South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace huddled Norman and Self in a phone meeting with Trump where the president-elect pushed them to support Johnson, arguing that extending the speakership fight would be “disrespectful to Americans.” Trump never visited with Massie, who was the lone Republican vote against Johnson.

“It would be disrespectful to Americans who voted in an historic Presidential election – to have this speaker’s vote go to a second or third ballot. And it would be disrespectful to me,” Trump said, according to Pergram. “Fellas, we have a lot to do. Let’s get to it.”

Self said later in a statement posted to social media that he agreed to support Johnson after “receiving firm assurances from the Speaker, that Republicans in the House will have strong representation during the budget reconciliation process — a cornerstone of President Trump’s agenda.”

RE: Speaker’s Vote
 
My sole focus was advancing the Trump agenda. To ensure this, I expressed concerns to Speaker Johnson about fiscal responsibility and holding the line on deficit spending—key priorities for my constituents.
 
After receiving firm assurances from the Speaker,…

— Rep. Keith Self (@RepKeithSelf) January 3, 2025

Norman appeared on Fox News and said that he would “do it again” the same way.

“[Trump] just said, ‘Mike Johnson is the only one that’s got the support among the body to become speaker.’ And I get that. But, you know, the only way I had to let my voice be heard was what I did,” Norman said.

"I'd do it again," Rep. Ralph Norman tells me after holding up Mike Johnson's speakership.

A phone call from President-elect Trump led Norman to change his vote.

"He just said, Mike Johnson is the only one that's got the support among the body to become speaker. And I get… pic.twitter.com/wwhGNZ2pqs

— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) January 3, 2025

The Washington Examiner’s Byron York, a longtime political columnist and Hill watcher, atributed Friday’s relative lack of excitement and chaos around the speakership vote to the “Trump effect.”

“Why was this Speaker election not the multi-ballot, multi-day ordeal that the McCarthy vote was in 2023? The Trump effect. The number of GOP members who were willing to stand in defiance of the president-elect’s wishes was exactly 1,” York noted.

Why was this Speaker election not the multi-ballot, multi-day ordeal that the McCarthy vote was in 2023? The Trump effect. The number of GOP members who were willing to stand in defiance of the president-elect's wishes was exactly 1. pic.twitter.com/67iHeS8T1p

— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 3, 2025