[With two Republican lawmakers standing between him and the speaker’s gavel, President-elect Donald Trump picked up the phone to speak with Reps. Ralph Norman and Keith Self, convincing them to ultimately fall in line behind Mike Johnson. The Louisiana Republican won his bid to retain the gavel, leading a narrowly divided chamber into the new year. Trump’s intervention was key, as the drama unfolded with far less certainty, highlighting his hold on the Republican Party and the challenge he faces keeping it together over the next two years.
Trump argued that Republicans needed to work together and warned that voters would have little tolerance for dysfunction if they didn’t unite behind a speaker. Rep. Andy Biggs, one of a half-dozen conservative hardliners, said that Trump’s confidence in Johnson had swayed the GOP conference, stating that he still had reservations but believed Trump’s endorsement was “important.”
The president-elect also sent Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia to phone-in to his incoming White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, as the vote unfolded. Trump’s direct involvement was unprecedented, as he had not personally lobbied for previous House GOP leadership contests.
The successful retention of the speaker’s gavel marks a key early test for Trump’s ability to navigate a closely divided chamber, where individual lawmakers will wield significant power. However, the episode serves as a reminder that Trump faces an uphill battle governing over the next two years, even with Republicans controlling the White House and Congress.
To pass his legislative agenda, Trump will need nearly unanimous support from his party, or bipartisan help, as his margin of control in the House and Senate will only tighten if the Senate confirms Reps. Mike Waltz of Florida and Elise Stefanik of New York to serve in the administration as national security adviser and U.N. ambassador, respectively. The margin will also at times be narrow, as House Republicans have struggled to govern since regaining the majority in 2022.
Despite the challenges ahead, Rep. Stephanie Bice of Oklahoma remains optimistic, stating that “governing is messy sometimes, and I think we’ve proven that not only today, but over the last two years. But we’ll get there.”
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