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life well planned. nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news" christian: hello, i'm christian fraser. this is "the context." >> i am directed by the vote of that conference to present for election to the office of the speaker of the house of representatives for the 119th congress.

the name of the honorable mike johnson. >> house democrats are united behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber, hakeem jeffries brooklyn. [applause] >> the honorable mike johnson of the state of louisiana having received a majority of the votes cast is duly elected speaker of the house of representatives for the 119th congress. christian: joining me tonight, abel maldonado, republican and former lieutenant governor of california, and attica green, former staffer for george w. bush and mitch mcconnell. we will talk to abel and attica shortly. big night in washington. let me bring you the latest headlines. the republican congressman like

johnson has narrowly won reelection for the most powerful seat in the u.s. house of representatives. mr. johnson was donald trump for house speaker but in a tense first round of voting, three fellow republicans cast ballots for someone else. at the last minute, two switched their vote to support him just before the gavel came down. the white house says u.s. president joe biden will travel to new orleans on monday. a vigil has been set up on bourbon street for the 14 people killed in the new year's day attack. the family of the man who carried out the attack said they are struggling to understand what motivated him to do it. severe weather warnings have been issued for parts of england and wales for parts of the weekend. amber warnings for snow and ice which could bring hazardous travel conditions. up to 30 centimeters of snow fall expected in some places and temperatures could fall as low as -10 degrees. apple has agreed to pay nearly 80 million pounds to settle a case in america electing some of

its devices were listening to people without their permission. the tech giant was accused of using the virtual assistant siri to eavesdrop on customers with recordings shared with advertisers. apple did not admit any wrongdoing. we are going to do things a little differently tonight. our panel is with us this first hour because we are continuing to watch an important moment in washington. the new congress convened this afternoon and members of the house have been voting to elect the next house speaker, one of the most powerful positions in washington and crucial to donald trump's legislative agenda. but things did not go smoothly for trump's man mike johnson who was looking to return to speaker in the first round of the vote. >> emmer. christian: that was the voice of kentucky congressman thomas

massie who voted instead for the majority whip thomas emmer. ralph norman of south carolina and keith self of texas also voted for alternative speakers. the magic number for johnson was 218. he was two short so began a frenzied hour of wheeling and dealing as johnson tried to shift first norman and then sell into the yes column. in the end, it worked. >> the house will be in order. >> mr. norman, johnson. mr. self, johnson. [applause] christian: so johnson wins on the first round. this was the moment in the last few minutes as he was escorted by his fellow congressmen to the dais to begin a second term as

house speaker. but the republicans hold the slender rest of margins in the house. not as mild as 2023, nonetheless today's vote will raise concerns about bigger problems ahead. just before we came on air, i spoke to republican congressman tim berdych. initially one of the holdouts. it did look that we were heading for a second round of a vote at the time. you predicted it would go multiple rounds. you did vote for mike johnson in the first round. will you stick with him in the subsequent rounds? >> yes, sir. i don't see any reason to change. they are working through it now, a question of whether they have even closed the boat. they could work it out and get something going. i asked -- the speaker met with one of the members that voted against him and i suspect he is meeting with both of them now. i wouldn't be surprised if president trump wasn't on the phone with both of those members.

christian: an interesting point that you make. the president-elect has some skin in the game here, it is his legislative agenda on the line. if the caucus doesn't stick together, does this portend trouble in the months ahead? >> not for president trump, i don't think. this is just a procedural move right now. the constitution provides for it, it is democracy, it is ugly. it is not how you do it but it is the way that we do it. we will work through it. i predict we will get something done here today. i think we will have a speaker elected. christian: i can assure you it gets pretty messy this side, as well. you said you decided on the day. did you extract anything tangible from mike johnson today? >> well, i'm a christian, not a very good one. that is not a good thing to say in politics. i pray about it and ask god what i need to do, what is best for

the country, the direction we need to go in. mike johnson is a very decent man. i want him to be a little more fiscally restrained. i hope he is in the future. we will just keep working on those things. a few other things i'm interested in but he has been very open minded to my suggestions. i have enjoyed that relationship. christian: do you think he is committed to reducing the debt? is he committed to getting the legislative agenda through, even if that might mean working with democrats? are you content with that? >> i don't care, i honestly don't. i want to see a reduction in spending at i want to pay down some of this $36 trillion we ran up, another trillion dollars every 100 days. that is not good for our economy, the world economy, unless you are chinese, i guess, and then we have to borrow the money from them. i suspect that is something on

the minds of every conservative on the house floor. christian: before i let you go, we are into the second round of voting. you seem pretty confident things will be ironed out. presumably enormous pressure on south carolina's ralph norman, keith self of texas to vote for mike johnson. have you spoken to them, are you confident they will turn around? >> i spoke to them before session, i knew where they would be. i spoke to them after the vote. everybody wants to thump their chest at them. i have been one of those boats that votes against the speaker. i have had the world angry at me. i am not going to be one of those that gets in their face. i just told him what i thought, encouraged them to vote, to meet with the speaker, and that is what they are doing. christian: have they had a call from donald trump? >> i cannot confirm nor deny that. christian: [laughter] we will let you get back to the

vote. good to talk to you on the program. thanks for coming on. >> hey, brother. always good to talk with you. i'm a british motorcycle fan. i have a bunch in my barn. a 1972 bsa lightning come the last year that they made them. i love england. >> godspeed. hurry back to the floor. christian: he was right on the money because they did turn their vote. mike johnson is speaking behind the dais. let's listen in. >> at 200 50 years old, our nation is a young nation. this past fall, i had the chance to go to the g-7 speakers meeting in italy, the only international trip i took as speaker over the last 14 months. it was a quick three-day jaunt. i met with the other speakers of the other parliaments, great governments of the world. we talked about that, how really

special america is, how unique we are in our place on the globe, and how important it is for us to maintain that. as i talked to these callings around the world i thought our closest allies who recognize how important we are, how important this house is, i thought about how is it that such a young country has become so exceptional, so singular in its importance, that today stands as the world's leader in liberty and the economy and culture? 100 years ago, president calvin coolidge answered that question in his inaugural address. it was march 100 years ago exactly almost. he said, we best serve our own country and most successfully discharged our obligations to humanity by continuing to be openly and candidly, intensely and scrupulously american. i love that. today.

that's right, that is an applause line. [applause] today, my friends, our nation is the envy of the world. why? because we have been marked by a spirit and the people who are explicitly that. we are explicitly american. we don't try to be like other nations and we recognize that a strong america is good for the entire world. and everybody around the globe knows that. that's right. [applause] we also recognize that the core principles that made america what we are must still be preserved today. the principles, i called on the seven principles of american conservatism but it is really the seven core principles of america. individual freedom, limited government, rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, human dignity. these are the ingredients that made us who we are.

in america we know that human flourishing is best achieved by adherence to time-tested truths. we could list a number of those simple truths. here is a couple. it's better to give a handout than a handout. innovation thrives when bureaucracy dies. [applause] christian: there we are, mike johnson elected to a second term as speaker, speaker and director, directing the applause from the dais. abel and danica have been waiting patiently. we saw keith self and ralph norman auto with the speaker not walking up the floor. the congressman was right that a conversation went on. what do you think happened behind the scenes? >> i think that they made their comments. they are frustrated, worried about the debt. worried about the spending. maybe they asked for a committee, who knows. you know how this political

thing works. i was in it for a long time. we know who norman is, we know who self is. they voted against mike johnson. now they maybe have an opportunity to talk to the speaker and the president. not 100% sure, but they were happy enough to change their vote immediately. i am glad this only lasted two hours because the american people voted for change. they gave the republican party the house, the senate, and the white house. it is time to govern. it is time to do what you said you were going to do it. i'm glad it only lasted two hours and we can move on now on the important issues that we have as americans. christian: annika, as congressman berdych suggested, donald trump did weigh in, he did make a phone call. it's a difficult position to be in to be the holdout. the two votes that make all the difference. >> it is, but it was also

intentional, as the congressman noted, you get the opportunity to get some attention from leadership. if you ultimately decide to vote the way they are asking, that becomes a credit in your direction and hopefully for the issues that you raise with the speaker and president. it is a little bit of horsetrading. what is it going to take to get this vote over the line? it is happening in the cloak room. one of the rules in congress is you cannot take a cell phone on the floor, although i have noticed recently members are breaking the rule, the newer ones. hopefully speaker johnson will crackdown on that a little bit. you step out, you have the conversation, they changed their votes, and that gives them more sway. they look good to their constituents. but republicans get the opportunity to do with the congressman was saying. govern. speaker johnson got the decision on the first ballot. it is actually a benefit to show

that not everyone is marching in lockstep to what they perceive president trump to be wanting. christian: it is a part of the natural process to negotiate with the speaker. i remember with nancy pelosi in 2018, had to cut deals with some on the left of the party. it is a part of the natural process that mike johnson has been through this afternoon. >> definitely natural. we want a little bit of theater, drama to our politics. not too much. we have had a little too much but this is the right kind of theater to show things are working the way they are supposed to, without being people steamrolled. one person who voted their conscious and stuck to it, thomas massie from kentucky. he is known for those sorts of things. he did an interview where he said you could pull out his fingernails and he wouldn't vote for johnson. the christian: the thing is, there were six others who didn't vote on the first call, they did

vote for johnson before the gavel came down which tells me there is a hard-line group of 12 republicans a part of that freedom caucus who want something from mike johnson that he cannot give them. as he suggests, they want a cut in spending but that is not with the president necessarily wants. >> i will tell you this, that block of nine or 12 will be very influential. however, in the past, that block of nine did not have donald j. trump as president of the united states, so come january 20, that block of nine or 12, if they decide to play the other side or make some waves, i can guarantee that president trump is going to not be very happy. he is going to make calls. president trump has a mandate. the american people voted for him. all of the swing states voted for him.

he has his agenda and that agenda will move forward quickly. the tax cuts, sealing the border, deporting illegal criminal aliens. those things will happen quick. obviously, the nomination of his cabinet and the appointment of the cabinet, the confirmation of the appointment of the cabinet is very important, and that is coming up real soon. the block has to understand nowadays joe biden is no longer going to be there. this is a republican administration with a republican senate and hopefully we get this moving quickly. in two years, believe it or not, let's be frank, in less than two years, there will be an election for the congress. republicans have a shot of keeping it. if they play games like these two-our games, not good for them. president trump is watching everything going on. christian: as they say, united we stand, divided we fall.

annika, i sense the optimism on abe;'s part -- abel's part, and are things that republicans didn't get around. there is a debt ceiling about to come, funding the federal government, and that is where mike johnson has had to work with democrats. there are some within the republican party that are pretty nihilistic about this, they don't want to work with democrats. >> it will have to change. the numbers are slim, he has one vote he can lose before it's a problem. keep in mind there is this mandate to get it done. conservatives are not happy about increased spending as well. that contributes to the problems of inflation and that really is the main issue, it was a grocery bill election that produced these results, one party control in both houses and the white house.

that is something that will be interesting to watch where the intersection comes with the doge, the committee, the recommendation to cut spending, eliminate bureaucracy. i found it interesting that mike johnson mentioned in his speech, the way americans thrive, the process thrives is if bureaucracy is killed, done away with. he is signaling that he will not be looking to resist common sense solutions and maybe it goes beyond common sense. we would consider a lot of the recommendation that we will see out of the committee of doge will seem pretty radical. but if you start out radical, the compromise hopefully is something that people can be happy with. christian: plenty more discuss around this about this afternoon. around the world and across the u.k., you are watching bbc news. ♪

christian: the fact that he took a little longer to return mike

johnson as speaker this afternoon will in the end be nothing but a blip in history. they are much more focused on whether republicans deliver. that is where i wanted to pick up with our panel. there was a suggestion this afternoon, abel, this battle between the maga wing and the freedom caucus would be sorted one way or the other. do you think it was a battle won for maga, or a battle postponed? >> just a postponement. i will repeat what i said earlier. president trump will be president january 20. that is when these groups, whether you are freedom caucus or mega caucus, whatever you are, it is donald j. trump's white house. it is his congress, his senate.

you can negotiate a little bit here and there, you may want to get some attention, but this is president donald j. trump's white house. he is not messing around. look at the nominating process for his cabinet, it is happening quickly. he is doing under secretaries, ambassadorships. he knows what to do this time. this too-hour shuffle, great. i can guarantee this. president donald j. trump knows who the two folks who kept that for two hours and he will not forget. now comes the 20th, seal the board or executive order, a lot coming down the pike here. republicans better be lock stock and barrel with him because he is the president. christian: when it comes to the primary season, we will see what happens with norman, self, massey, if they get donald trump's backing. that dangles over those figures

in congress when donald trump is in the white house. of course that's the case. one thing mike johnson did do, annika, as speaker, said he would commit to a working group to look at government spending, audit federal agencies, task house committees to undertake aggressive reviews of the work that federal agencies do. does that reassure you that this is a speaker that wants to get to grip with spending? >> i think to step in the right direction. the leadership has to do what they can with what they have. that is always a challenge. the house doesn't have as much power. individual members don't have as much power as they do in the senate. by working with democrats in the past, he has shown he is not afraid to do that. he will not be hamstrung if his members do not stay in line. but in terms of principles, johnson himself as a man, politician, doesn't like wanton

spending. as a leader, i think it's important to look at congress, by law, are supposed to hold a bureaucracy accountable and has failed. committees need to do their job. this is the temptation they will have to resist. they do a lot of show trials, which is -- committee hearings. that is how they can get attention from the media, pull people in here, make it look like we are doing something, but the challenge will be actually doing something. that is where he needs to follow through and not just have committees review things but bring up proposals and force people to vote on them. christian: that is where this is high-stakes, abel. you have two years to do that, they have the trifecta. the 118th congress by common consent didn't do enough. if there is a repeat of that, the republicans will pay the price. >> no doubt about it, christian.

there are three ways to balance the budget, either increase revenue, cut spending, or you borrow. the easiest thing to do, and the worst thing to do is to borrow. that is what politicians do. they don't want to tax so they don't want to increase revenue, which i understand completely, but they also don't want to cut. when the review comes in, if the cuts are there, it's not enough, so i will vote no. or there are tax increases, i will vote no. we get in this position we are today with this $36 trillion deficit. we are spending more on the deficit, interest then we are on so many other things that are very important to the american people. i can guarantee you this. day one will be sealing the border. it will be energy exploration. the $36 trillion debt is on president trump's eye, and he wants to lower that with growth.

republicans, how are you going to vote yes on president trump's packages? none of this notion of, we want a lifeboat today, we are going to vote no. this is a republican house, republican senate, republican white house. move the ball forward. the american people are asking for it. christian: we are watching pictures from the house. there are members being sworn in now that we have a speaker. big day in the house of representatives. we will be right back after this break. representatives. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you enrich your community.