Speaker-designate Mike Johnson, R-La., was re-elected to lead the House of Representatives on Friday despite losing one fellow Republican in the final vote tally.
Ultimately, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote against Johnson, but it could have been worse for the House speaker. Reps. Keith Self, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., initially voted for someone else but switched their support to Johnson.
Norman told Fox News he changed his vote after he got some assurances from Johnson.
“I said, ‘Mike, are you going to give us specific examples of fighting for the things we mentioned? Will you give us your word?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ So I said, ‘OK, we’ll take you at your word.’ That’s why I changed my vote,” Norman explained Friday on “The Story.”
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Johnson’s future appeared uncertain at one point on Friday afternoon when Norman, Massie and Self voted for someone other than him for speaker, putting the gavel seemingly out of reach.
Johnson then huddled with Self, Norman and other lawmakers behind closed doors before the vote was called to an end. Both later emerged and switched their votes to support Johnson.
Norman shared his initial opposition was rooted in concern as to whether Johnson had the “willingness to fight for Trump’s agenda.”
“We had met with Speaker Johnson yesterday for an extended period of time, and I just didn’t come away with the feeling that the oomph or the willingness to fight for Trump’s agenda was there,” he said on “The Story.”
Norman stood behind his initial decision to vote against Johnson, reasoning it was “the only way I had to let my voice be heard.”
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Ultimately, the Louisiana Republican won along party lines during the first round of voting, a stark contrast to his predecessor Kevin McCarthy’s drawn-out, 15-round battle in 2023.
Johnson’s re-election victory comes despite saber-rattling by some conservatives who threatened to withhold support from Johnson in protest of his handling of government funding and several other issues in the 118th Congress.
“I think now he understands the fact that no more suspension votes, where we allow more Democrat votes than Republicans — that’s what’s killing the country,” Norman said. “If we’re going to do the same thing over and over again as we have done for the last 14 months, we’re going to be in the same position. I’m just not willing to go along with that, and I didn’t.”
“Mike has got a tremendous opportunity to show the American people that not only he’s just going to say it, he’s going to fight it. He’s going to have Trump backing him up, which is all a good thing.”
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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