Republican lawmaker explains why he reversed vote for Mike Johnson in heated House speaker vote

Speaker-designate Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, re-elected He will lead the House on Friday despite losing a fellow Republican in the final count.

Ultimately, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote against Johnson, but things could have been worse for the House speaker. Texas Republican Rep. Keith Self and Republican Sen. Ralph Norman initially voted against Johnson but later switched to supporting him.

Norman told Fox News he changed his vote after getting some assurances from Johnson.

“I said, ‘Mike, can you give us some specific examples of people who fought for the things we mentioned? Can you guarantee us that?’ And he said, ‘Yes. “So I said, ‘Well, we take your word for it. That’s why I changed my vote,'” Norman explained to “Story” on Friday.

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Johnson’s future briefly looked uncertain Friday afternoon, when Norman, Massey and Self voted for someone other than him to be speaker, making the gavel seem out of reach.

Johnson then closed the door with Self, Norman and other lawmakers as the vote concluded. Both later emerged and voted for Johnson.

Norman said his initial opposition stemmed from concerns about Johnson’s “willingness to fight for Trump’s agenda.”

“We met with Speaker Johnson at length yesterday, but I came away feeling no enthusiasm or willingness to fight for Trump’s agenda,” he said in the Story.

Norman backed his initial decision to vote against Johnson on the grounds that it was “It’s the only way I can make my voice heard.

Mike Johnson re-elected speaker: Here are the top three moments from the dramatic vote

Ultimately, the Louisiana Republican won along party lines on the first ballot, in stark contrast to his predecessor Kevin McCarthy’s protracted 15-ballot effort in 2023.

Johnson won re-election despite threats from some conservatives to withhold support 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 moratoriums, we’re allowing more Democrats to vote than Republicans — and that’s what’s killing this country,” Norman said. “If we’re going to be like we were in the past Doing the same thing over and over again for 14 months puts us in the same position and I just don’t want to do it, and I don’t.”

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“Mike has a great opportunity to show the American people that he’s not just going to speak out, but he’s going to fight it. He’s going to have Trump’s support, and that’s a good thing.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.