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President-elect Trump appears to have helped Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., avoid a messy, drawn-out battle for the House leadership.
Trump spoke by phone with Reps. Ralph Norman, R-Texas, and Keith Self, R-Texas, after initially voting for people other than Johnson as speaker, two sources told Fox News Digital.
Self and Norman were seen disappearing into a side room with Johnson and others after the roll call, but before the vote formally closed.
They came out minutes later and announced that they would both vote for johnson – cementing the victory for the Louisiana Republican.
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Speaker Mike Johnson won re-election to lead the House with the support of President-elect Donald Trump. (AP/Getty)
Self then confirmed to reporters that he had spoken with Trump on the phone several 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 to Fox News Digital said Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C., connected Trump with Self and Norman by phone after they voted against Johnson.
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Two people said Rep. Nancy Mace connected the conflicts to Trump. (Getty Images)
Mace did not comment, but Fox News Digital saw her and Johnson share a hug on the House floor after they and others stood in the side room with the resisters.
He was also seen in heated conversations with Norman outside the House floor earlier.
Norman also later confirmed to reporters that he spoke with Trump on Friday.
“He just said how Mike is the only one who could be elected,” Norman said, adding that Trump didn’t change his vote, but a “commitment that things will change” from Johnson.
Johnson won the Speaker of the House in the first round of voting, after initially looking like he was on the verge of losing.
Rep. Keith Self confirmed he spoke with Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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.
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But House leaders did not formally shut down the vote while they figured out a way forward. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers were told to go to the House immediately to prepare for a second vote.
However, that second vote did not occur and Johnson was sworn in as speaker on Friday afternoon.
