WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Republican Mike Johnson narrowly won reelection Friday as on a first ballot, overcoming hard-right GOP holdouts in a tense standoff and buoyed by a nod of support from President-elect .
The uneasy scene brought an ominous start to the first day of the new Congress. A small collection of hardline Republicans convened in the back of the House chamber, one by one declining to vote or choosing another lawmaker. Johnson's face turned grim, acknowledging fresh turmoil and signaling trouble ahead for him as Trump returns to the White House with .
In the end, however, Johnson was able to flip two holdouts who switched to support him, with help from Trump, who called the dissenting Republican lawmakers from the golf course. The final tally was 218-215.
Johnson, visibly relieved, vowed to 鈥渞eject business as usual鈥� in his first speech with the gavel.
鈥淲e're going to drastically cut back the size and scope of government,鈥� he promised.
weak grip on the gavel has threatened not only his own survival but ambitious agenda of tax cuts and mass deportations as in the House and the Senate. The stark vote tally laid bare the challenges he faces. Even backing from Trump himself, usually a surer bet for Republicans, was no guarantee of Johnson's ability to stay in the speaker's office.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries attempted to push past the Republican tumult of the past two years, saying it was time to come together, put party politics aside 鈥渢o get things done鈥� for Americans.
What was once a ceremonial day with newly elected lawmakers arriving to be sworn into office, often with family, friends and children in tow 鈥� Republicans this year wearing long, Trump-style red ties 鈥� has evolved into a high-stakes vote for the office of House speaker, among the most powerful elected positions in Washington. Vice President Kamala Harris swore in the senators.
While the Senate is able to convene on its own and has already elected party leaders 鈥� Sen. as the Republican majority leader, who vowed in his first speech to , and Sen. Chuck Schumer for the Democratic minority 鈥� the House must first elect its speaker. It's a role required by the Constitution, second in the line of succession to the president.
With opposition from his own GOP colleagues, Johnson arrived at the Capitol with outward confidence after working into the night to sway dissenters. A flop by Johnson could have thrown Monday鈥檚 congressional certification of 罢谤耻尘辫鈥檚 victory into turmoil.
Trump had endorsed Johnson, and was on the phone during the vote to secure the outcome. 鈥淢ike will be a Great Speaker, and our Country will be the beneficiary,鈥� Trump posted on social media after the vote.
Congress has been here before, when it took Republicans nearly a week and to elect Kevin McCarthy as speaker in 2023, a spectacle otherwise unseen in modern times. McCarthy was then dumped by his party, a , but he was also part of a long list of GOP speakers chased to early exits.
The stakes were higher this year as Trump prepares to return to the White House with the and in GOP control and promising to deliver big on a 100-day agenda.
Johnson worked diligently up to the final moments to prevent losing his post. He had spent New Year's Day at Mar-a-Lago as he . The speaker often portrays himself as the 鈥渜uarterback鈥� who will be executing the political plays called by the 鈥渃oach,鈥� the president-elect.
During the dramatic roll call, the strain on Johnson was clear. More than a half-dozen Republicans refused to vote for him, many from the conservative Freedom Caucus simply staying silent as their names were called.
The chamber came to a standstill, and then a few of those Republican holdouts announced their support. But Johnson was still falling short. One hard 鈥渘o鈥� was Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who voted for a different GOP leader and had made it clear he would not switch.
But there were two others. Johnson's allies huddled with Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas, some taking calls and passing them their phones. Trump called all three of them. Norman said later that Trump told him, "Mike鈥檚 the only one who can be elected.鈥�
Johnson led the two GOP lawmakers off the chamber floor. A short time later, Johnson reentered the chamber upbeat, and Norman and Self cast their votes for him, to cheers.
Eventually, Johnson and all the House lawmakers were sworn into office.
Johnson commands one of the slimmest majorities in modern times, having lost seats in the November election. With the sudden resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the tally dropped to 219-215. That leaves Johnson relying on almost every Republican for support to reach the typical 218 threshold for a majority in the face of Democratic opposition 鈥�- on the speaker鈥檚 vote or other party priorities.
Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy was among the most notable holdouts, a Freedom Caucus member who lashed into Republican leadership鈥檚 handling of the year-end spending bill for failing to cut spending.
鈥淪omething MUST change,鈥� Roy posted on social media. He eventually voted for Johnson.
It鈥檚 unclear what concessions Johnson made to win support. Already, centrist conservatives pushed a new House rule that would require at least nine members of the majority party on any resolution to oust the speaker 鈥� raising the threshold McCarthy had lowered to just one.
Members of the Freedom Caucus released a list of demands after its members delivered votes to make Johnson speaker, including on immigration, federal spending cuts and banning members of Congress from stock trading.
In many ways, Johnson has no choice but to endure political hazing from his colleagues, as they remind him of who has leverage in their lopsided relationship. He was a last-ditch choice for the office, rising from the back bench once other leaders failed in the aftermath of McCarthy's ouster.
The speaker's election dominated the opening of the new Congress, which brings a roster of history-making members.
In the Senate, two Black women 鈥� Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland 鈥� were sworn in, both wearing suits in the white of the suffragettes. It is the first time in the nation's history two Black women senators will serve at the same time.
Sen.-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey also is making history as the first Korean American to join the chamber.
In the House, Sarah McBride is in the Congress.
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Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon, Matt Brown, Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri And Kevin Freking, The Associated Press
