Catie Edmondson

He apparently was in the middle of a golf game down in Florida. And he spoke with Johnson, Norman, and Self all on speakerphone in this ante room. And we know what his message was because Ralph Norman and Keith Self told us afterwards.

He apparently was in the middle of a golf game down in Florida. And he spoke with Johnson, Norman, and Self all on speakerphone in this ante room. And we know what his message was because Ralph Norman and Keith Self told us afterwards.

His message was, look, Mike is the only guy who has the votes to become speaker, right? You need to do this for me. We need to get on with it, right? We have a trifecta. This type of opportunity is a rare one. We need to seize it. We need to get going, right? And it sounds like neither man really pushed back much on this.

His message was, look, Mike is the only guy who has the votes to become speaker, right? You need to do this for me. We need to get on with it, right? We have a trifecta. This type of opportunity is a rare one. We need to seize it. We need to get going, right? And it sounds like neither man really pushed back much on this.

Ralph Norman told us that his response to Trump was, well, you know, we just want to make sure that Mike is the person who's going to get everything that you want. We want to make sure you get your deal. And that's really where our trepidations are.

Ralph Norman told us that his response to Trump was, well, you know, we just want to make sure that Mike is the person who's going to get everything that you want. We want to make sure you get your deal. And that's really where our trepidations are.

By the end of the call, Keith Self and Ralph Norman walk back out onto the House floor. Mr. Norman Johnson. Mr. Self Johnson. Mr. Norman. and they changed their votes.

By the end of the call, Keith Self and Ralph Norman walk back out onto the House floor. Mr. Norman Johnson. Mr. Self Johnson. Mr. Norman. and they changed their votes.

And so Johnson was able to successfully win the speakership on that first ballot.

And so Johnson was able to successfully win the speakership on that first ballot.

But minutes after Johnson is officially reelected, the House Freedom Caucus, which is sort of the organizing organ for a lot of these guys, it's that ultra conservative block of lawmakers, they send him a public letter and it begins, today we voted for Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House because of our steadfast support of President Trump.

But minutes after Johnson is officially reelected, the House Freedom Caucus, which is sort of the organizing organ for a lot of these guys, it's that ultra conservative block of lawmakers, they send him a public letter and it begins, today we voted for Mike Johnson for Speaker of the House because of our steadfast support of President Trump.

We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker's track record over the past 15 months.

We did this despite our sincere reservations regarding the Speaker's track record over the past 15 months.

Yeah, exactly. And to send this minutes after he wins reelection, after they subjected him to this kind of embarrassing spectacle on the House floor, right, is really to assert their own power and to say, you need to listen to us.

Yeah, exactly. And to send this minutes after he wins reelection, after they subjected him to this kind of embarrassing spectacle on the House floor, right, is really to assert their own power and to say, you need to listen to us.

Yeah, I mean, I think we got a preview of a lot of potential collisions to come in this Congress, both in this vote and in the past couple of weeks, right? In this letter that the House Freedom Caucus sent to Johnson, they enumerated a list of demands. And these demands are going to be incredibly hard for Johnson to act on.

Yeah, I mean, I think we got a preview of a lot of potential collisions to come in this Congress, both in this vote and in the past couple of weeks, right? In this letter that the House Freedom Caucus sent to Johnson, they enumerated a list of demands. And these demands are going to be incredibly hard for Johnson to act on.

One of them is that they can't raise the debt limit, which is something that President Trump has requested lawmakers do without enacting deep spending cuts that would offset their increases to the nation's borrowing limit. Another one is that if you're going to implement a program as costly as mass deportations, then you need to cut other government programs somewhere else.

One of them is that they can't raise the debt limit, which is something that President Trump has requested lawmakers do without enacting deep spending cuts that would offset their increases to the nation's borrowing limit. Another one is that if you're going to implement a program as costly as mass deportations, then you need to cut other government programs somewhere else.