GOP rebels switch vote to Johnson after Trump’s 11th hour calls, pushing him over the finish line
President-elect Trump appears to have helped Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., avoid a messy, drawn-out fight to lead the House of Representatives.
Trump spoke by phone with both Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, after they had initially voted for people other than Johnson for speaker, two knowledgeable sources told Fox News Digital.
Self and Norman were seen disappearing into a side room with Johnson and others after the roll call vote was complete, but before the vote was formally closed.
They emerged minutes later and announced they would both vote for Johnson – cementing the Louisiana Republican's victory.
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Self then confirmed to reporters that he had spoken with Trump by phone multiple times on Friday.
"I talked to him a couple of times today," Self said. "We had a lively discussion."
Self did not elaborate much further on the contents of the discussion.
But the two people who spoke with Fox News Digital said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., connected Trump with Self and Norman by phone after they voted against Johnson.
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Mace would not comment, but Fox News Digital saw her and Johnson share a hug on the House floor after they and others were in the side room with the holdouts.
She was also seen in intense talks with Norman off the House floor earlier.
Norman also later confirmed to reporters that he spoke with Trump on Friday.
"He just made his point about how Mike is the only one who could get elected," Norman said, adding that Trump did not change his vote but rather a "commitment that things are gonna change" from Johnson.
Johnson won the House speakership in the first round of voting, after it initially appeared he was poised to lose.
Self, Norman and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., each voted for people other than Johnson, appearing to put the speaker's gavel out of reach.
But House leaders did not formally close the vote while figuring out a path forward. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers were told to be on the House floor immediately in preparation for a second vote.
That second vote did not occur, however, and Johnson was sworn in as speaker on Friday afternoon.