Johnson meets with Republicans undecided on whether he should remain speaker

(WASHINGTON) — After spending Thursday trying to sway Republican holdouts to back his bid to retain the speaker’s gavel, Mike Johnson’s future could still come down to a single GOP vote Friday when House holds elects a new leader as the 119th Congress begins.

Behind the scenes, President-elect Donald Trump and his top advisers were working to strike a deal with one lawmaker in particular, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, sources told ABC News.

Entering the Capitol on Friday, Johnson was asked if he’ll get reelected in the first round of voting. “I think so,” Johnson told ABC News.

Johnson does appear to have the support of the majority of his conference and has the endorsement of Trump. But there are at least 16 hardliners who won’t commit to voting for Johnson and at least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, has said publicly he won’t vote for Johnson.

Several members of the House Freedom Caucus, including those who won’t commit to backing Johnson, were spotted entering the speaker’s office on Thursday, including Republican Reps. Roy, Michael Cloud, Eli Crane, Ralph Norman, Victoria Spartz, Andy Harris, Andy Biggs, Scott Perry, Andrew Clyde and Andy Ogles.

Spartz told ABC News that she will decide on Friday whether she will vote for Johnson.

Most of the members leaving the 2 1/2-hour meeting dodged questions from reporters. The few who did talk said they thought they were making progress but none had committed to voting for Johnson.

Norman did speak to reporters after the meeting, saying that he was happy with how the meeting went but that the group who convened with Johnson weren’t yet committed to voting for him on Friday.

Asked if he was still far from voting for Johnson, Norman said, “No I wouldn’t say that.”

“A day in politics is like a minute. It’s always changing, we’ll see. I was very happy with the discussions, we’ll see,” Norman added. “He’s listening, Mike is listening, he’s a good listener…. Are we there yet on everything? No. But we will continue the discussions.”

Asked before the meeting if he and other Republicans are defying Trump by withholding support for Johnson, Norman defended their push for certain concessions from the speaker.

“We haven’t done anything yet. We are discussing it. We are discussing it. Look, the vote will take place,” Norman said. “You’ll see how it comes out.”

“Trump’s behind him. He does make a lot of difference. Donald Trump says he’s his chosen speaker. So, we will see how that goes,” Norman added.

Roy placed his hand in front of his face when asked after the meeting if he had spoken with Trump about the speaker’s vote.

Cloud wouldn’t answer questions, either, but said later in a post on X that he’s still “working to help find a third option” as he thinks Johnson’s speakership, or the “status quo,” would “undoubtedly fail Trump’s agenda” but that any delay in this process would also push back Trump’s ability to enact it.

Johnson told ABC News the conversations on Thursday were “going well” and he believed the election on Friday is “going to go smoothly.”

“People are talking through process changes they want and those kinds of things. And I’m open to that. And I think tomorrow is going to go well,” he said.

Johnson is navigating the speakership battle with a historically narrow House majority.

The resignation of former GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz in December left the House with 434 members, 219 of whom are Republicans and 215 Democrats. That means if all members are present on Friday, Johnson could afford to lose only one Republican vote.

There is also an all-out push from Trump’s advisers to come to an agreement with Roy.

The Texas congressman, who posted on X on Wednesday that he was undecided, has spoken to both Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who are personally involved in striking a deal with Roy, sources told ABC News.

In a call on New Year’s Day, Trump praised Roy’s work in the House but encouraged him to support Johnson, who was also on the call along with Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The sources told ABC News that discussions with Roy include making him the chair of the Rules Committee, one of the most powerful committees in the House that can block any legislation from advancing to the House floor. Roy also has indicated privately that he wants a commitment to major cuts in government spending.

The House will gavel in at noon Friday to embark on the start of the 119th Congress, in which Republicans will have control of both the House and Senate.

The first order of business in the House is its constitutional obligation to elect its speaker, a process that has created high drama in recent years as Kevin McCarthy took 15 ballots to ultimately seize the gavel at the beginning of the 118th Congress.

McCarthy later became the first lawmaker vacated from the speaker’s office after a revolt by a handful of Republican hardliners led by Gaetz.

Republicans then took three weeks to decide on a new leader and ultimately settled on Johnson as the 56th speaker of the House in October 2023.

The House cannot conduct any business until a speaker is elected, such as certifying Trump’s 2024 election victory — a process set for Jan. 6.

Johnson has expressed confidence that he will be successful, despite at times acknowledging the “numbers game” he faces.

Asked about his message to undecided Republicans, Johnson replied: “We need to stay unified so we can save the country. And I think that’s an important message.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, an assistant Republican whip who backs Johnson’s bid to remain speaker, said on CNN on Thursday she wouldn’t be surprised if the vote goes to multiple rounds.

“I don’t know if he has the votes right now, but I do believe that he will have the votes,” Malliotakis said. “And I’m not sure that it will be on the first round, but I do think by tomorrow we will have a speaker and that speaker will be Mike Johnson.”

Asked what would it say about House Republicans if he were to lose on the first ballot, Johnson said he hopes to have the necessary votes.

But if not, Johnson said, “That’s the process of Congress with a small majority, that’s what that says.”