Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was reelected to the top post in the House in a stunning floor vote on the opening day of Congress on Friday, securing the gavel on the first ballot.

But the vote did not come without drama. Reps. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Keith Self (R-Texas) had initially voted for candidates other than Johnson — Norman voted for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Self voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).

The Clerk, though, held open the vote. And after negotiations with Johnson, Norman and Self made their way to the front of the chamber and switched to support Johnson. 

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Johnson’s biggest antagonist who has criticized his moves over the last year on spending, was the only Republican to vote for a candidate other than Johnson, casting his ballot for GOP Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.)

Lawmakers lined up to shake Johnson’s hand and hug him after Norman and Self changed their votes.

The vote is also a victory for President-elect Trump, who had endorsed Johnson and was instrumental in rallying Republicans around the Speaker. Several members had warned that a delay in electing the Speaker could have complicated certification on Jan. 6.

“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! – A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!” Trump posted on Truth Social Friday morning.

The Speaker could not have afforded another defection on the House floor and secured the gavel with the slim House GOP majority, which has 219 Republicans to 215 Democrats. Every House Democrat supported House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Those who withheld support for Johnson up until the Speaker vote were seeking commitments on spending cuts and a more member-driven process.

While Johnson met with the holdouts in multiple meetings leading up to the vote, he refused to made “side deals” that some holdouts had floated, such as naming Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) chair of the House Rules Committee.

But Johnson did fulfill a key request of some holdouts, like Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), in making three public commitments.

In a post on X minutes before the floor election started, Johnson said he would:

“1. Create a working group comprised of independent experts – not corrupted by lobbyists and special interests – to work with DOGE and our committees on implementing recommended government and spending reforms to protect the American taxpayer.

“2. Task that working group with reviewing existing audits of federal agencies and entities created by Congress – and issuing a report to my office for public release.

“3. Request House committees undertake aggressive authorizations and appropriations reviews, including providing additional resources where needed, to expose irresponsible or illegal practices and hold agencies/individuals accountable that have weaponized government against the American people.”

The bulk of the holdouts kept their votes for Speaker a surprise until the vote on the House floor. A spokesperson for Spartz confirmed ahead of the vote that she would support Johnson.

The inter-party drama in the lead-up to the Speaker vote has become commonplace in the slim House GOP majority over the last two years. It took former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) 15 ballots over four days to be elected, and a band of eight Republicans ousted him from the position just nine months later. 

After three weeks of House Republicans scrambling and cycling through potential replacements, Republicans settled on Johnson – a southern Baptist traditional conservative who at the time was a widely unknown figure and held only a low-ranking slot in House leadership.

But Johnson soon got plenty of criticism from Republicans when he was tasked with matters like keeping the government open, approving aid to Ukraine, reauthorizing federal foreign surveillance powers, and relying on Democratic votes for major legislation.

Last spring, Massie and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) triggered a snap vote to oust Johnson – but House Democrats, having no further appetite for more House chaos, helped defeat that effort.

A five-page, 26-point memo detailing “fails” under Johnson’s leadership is circulated among House Republicans ahead of the Speaker vote. 

A copy of the document obtained by The Hill, which had no identified author, read: “The House must be organized to deliver on the historic mandate granted to President Trump and Republicans. It currently is not – as demonstrated many times over the last year and, most recently, the week before Christmas.”

But Johnson supporters noted that legislating with only a slim majority in one chamber, and when a handful of Republicans would repeatedly tank party-line bills, was incredibly difficult.

“Achieving perfection requires incremental gains and hard decisions along the way,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) said in her nominating speech for Johnson.

And Greene, who was once Johnson’s biggest GOP critic, also notably changed her tune given the changing balance of power in Washington.

Greene posted a video on X on Thursday calling on members to “put aside our pride, let’s put aside our egos, and let’s put aside the infighting,” saying she will vote for Johnson in order to support Trump’s election mandate.

The Speaker vote will not be the end of headaches for the newly reelected Speaker, despite trifecta control of Washington, given the slim majority.

Johnson will now be tasked with balancing requests from Trump with the priorities of his members – which could, at times, clash.

 More than 30 Republicans voted against a short-term spending bill in December that included a last-minute debt ceiling increase. Trump had requested that Republicans raise the debt limit before he takes office in order to prevent Democrats from using it as a leverage point next year. But GOP fiscal hawks balked at raising the nation’s borrowing limit without slashing federal spending, and the bill did not pass.

Republicans’ top priority, now, will be crafting a bill jam-packed with Trump agenda items, which they aim to pass through a party-line “reconciliation” process that bypasses the threat of a Democratic filibuster.

But getting the rambunctious House GOP behind the package could prove to be as tall of as a task for Johnson as it was to secure the votes to be reelected Speaker.