Speaker-designate Mike Johnson, R-La., was re-elected to steer the Home of Representatives on Friday regardless of shedding one fellow Republican within the last vote tally.
In the end, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the one Republican to vote in opposition to Johnson, however it may have been worse for the Home speaker. Reps. Keith Self, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., have been initially voting in opposition to Johnson, however switched their votes to help him.
Norman advised Fox Information he modified his vote after he acquired some assurances from Johnson.
“I stated, ‘Mike, are you going to provide us particular examples of preventing for the issues we talked about? Will you give us your phrase?’ He stated, ‘Sure.’ So I stated, ‘OK, we’ll take you at your phrase.’ That is why I modified my vote,” Norman defined Friday on “The Story.”
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Johnson’s future appeared unsure at one level on Friday afternoon when Norman, Massie and Self voted for somebody aside from him for speaker, placing the gavel seemingly out of attain.
Johnson then huddled with Self, Norman and different lawmakers behind closed doorways earlier than the vote was referred to as to an finish. Each later emerged and switched their votes to help Johnson.
Norman shared his preliminary opposition was rooted in concern as as to whether Johnson had the “willingness to battle for Trump’s agenda.”
“We had met with Speaker Johnson yesterday for an prolonged time frame, and I simply did not come away with the sensation that the oomph or the willingness to battle for Trump’s agenda was there,” he stated on “The Story.”
Norman stood behind his preliminary determination to vote in opposition to Johnson, reasoning it was “the one manner I needed to let my voice be heard.”
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In the end, the Louisiana Republican gained alongside occasion traces in the course of the first spherical of voting, a stark distinction to his predecessor Kevin McCarthy’s drawn-out, 15-round battle in 2023.
Johnson’s re-election victory comes regardless of saber-rattling by some conservatives who threatened to withhold help from Johnson in protest of his dealing with of presidency funding and a number of other different points within the 118th Congress.
“I feel now he understands the truth that no extra suspension votes, the place we enable extra Democrat votes than Republicans — that is what’s killing the nation,” Norman stated. “If we’ll do the identical factor over and over as we have now carried out for the final 14 months, we’ll be in the identical place. I am simply not prepared to go together with that, and I did not.”
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“Mike has acquired an amazing alternative to indicate the American folks that not solely he is simply going to say it, he will battle it. He will have Trump backing him up, which is all factor.”
Fox Information Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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