House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday met with Republican opponents of his bid to hold the reins in the new Congress, a day before the House convenes and votes on a speaker, which could come down to just one Republican vote.
In the background, the candidate for president Donald Trump and his top advisers were working with one lawmaker in particular, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, to broker a deal, sources told ABC News.
Johnson appears to have the support of a majority of his conference and Trump’s backing. But there are at least 16 hard-liners who won’t commit to voting for Johnson, and at least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, has publicly said he won’t vote for Johnson.
Several members of the House Freedom Caucus, including those who will not pledge to back Johnson, were seen entering the speaker’s office Thursday, including Republican Reps. Roy, Michael Cloud, Eli Crane, Ralph Norman, Victoria Spartz, Andy Harris, Andy. Biggs, Scott Perry, Andrew Clyde and Andy Ogles.
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the media after meeting with Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2024.
Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images
Spartz told ABC News that he will decide on Friday whether to vote for Johnson.
Most of the members who left the 2 1/2 hour meeting avoided questions from reporters. The few who spoke said they believed progress was being made, but none committed to voting for Johnson.
Norman spoke to reporters after the meeting and said he was happy with how the meeting went but that the group that met with Johnson was not yet committed to a vote on Friday.
Asked if he was far from voting for Johnson, Norman said, “No, I wouldn’t say that.”
“In politics, a day is like a minute. It’s always changing, we’ll see. I was very happy with the discussions, we’ll see,” added Norman. “He’s listening, Mike’s listening, he’s a good listener… Are we done with everything yet? No. But we’ll continue the discussions.”
Asked before the meeting whether he and other Republicans were defying Trump by withdrawing support for Johnson, Norman defended the speaker’s push for some concessions.
“We haven’t done anything yet. We’re debating. We’re debating. Look, there’s going to be a vote,” said Norman. “You’ll see how it turns out.”
“Trump is behind him. It makes a big difference. Donald Trump says he’s the speaker of the election. So we’ll see how that goes,” Norman added.
Roy put his hand in front of his face after the meeting to ask if he had spoken to Trump about the speaker vote.
Cloud also wouldn’t answer questions, but later said in an X post that he’s still “working to help find a third option” because he believes Johnson’s speaker, or “status quo,” would “undoubtedly fail Trump’s agenda ” but that delaying this process would also delay Trump’s ability to implement it.
Johnson told ABC News that Thursday’s talks were “going well” and that he believed Friday’s election would “go well.”
“People are talking about process changes they want and things like that. And I’m open to that. And I think tomorrow will go well,” he said.
Johnson is navigating a speakership battle with a historically narrow House majority.
The resignation of former PP deputy Matt Gaetz in December left the Chamber with 434 members, of which 219 are Republicans and 215 are Democrats. That means if all members are present on Friday, Johnson could lose just one Republican vote.
It’s also the full push of Trump’s advisers to reach an agreement with Roy.
The Texas congressman, who posted on X Wednesday that he was undecided, has spoken with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who are personally signing the deal with Roy, sources told ABC News.
In a New Year’s Day call, Trump praised Roy’s work in the House, but encouraged him to help Johnson, who was on the call with Vice President-elect JD Vance.
Sources told ABC News that discussions with Roy include him becoming chairman of the Rules Committee, one of the House’s most powerful committees, which can block any legislation from advancing to the House floor. Roy has also privately indicated that he wants a commitment to major cuts in government spending.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson welcomes President-elect Donald Trump during a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill November 13, 2024 in Washington.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The House will adjourn at noon on Friday to begin the 119th Congress, as Republicans will have control of both the House and the Senate.
The House’s first order of business is its constitutional obligation to elect its speaker, a process that has created a lot of drama in recent years, with Kevin McCarthy taking 15 votes early in the 118th Congress to finally pick up the gavel.
McCarthy later became the first member of the legislature to be vacated from the speaker’s office after a rebellion by some Republican hardliners led by Gaetz.
Republicans then took three weeks to decide on a new leader and finally decided on Johnson as the 56th speaker of the House in October 2023.
The House cannot conduct any business until a speaker is chosen, such as ensuring Trump’s 2024 election victory — a process set for Jan. 6.
Johnson has expressed confidence that he will succeed, despite acknowledging the “numbers game” he sometimes faces.
Asked about his message to undecided Republicans, Johnson replied: “We have to stand together to save the country. And I think that’s an important message.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican aide who supports Johnson’s bid to remain speaker, said on CNN Thursday that she wouldn’t be surprised if the vote went to several rounds.
“I don’t know if he has the votes now, but I think he will have the votes,” Malliotakis said. “And I’m not sure if it’s going to be in the first round, but I think we’re going to have a speaker tomorrow and that speaker is going to be Mike Johnson.”
Asked what he would say about House Republicans if he loses on the first ballot, Johnson said he hopes to have the necessary votes.
But if not, Johnson said, “That’s the process of Congress with a small majority, that’s what it says.”
