host: keith self, ralph norman and tom massie, historically. guest: the politics we have now, not necessarily safe in a primary election. that is where you have to worry as an incumbent that you could lose reelection. host: who was the longest serving speaker? guest: sam rayburn, who first became speaker in a 1941 and served off and on until his death in 1961. democrat from texas. host: what was his special power? guest: [laughter] he had a lot of special powers but he was a good fit for the nature of the house and the democratic caucus at the time. he was very good at negotiating and balancing the different wings of his party, the northern liberal wing and the southern conservative wing. part of it was conversation, part of it was making sure the southern wing had sufficient influence with being chairs of committees. there were things on the house floor that would divide his party, particularly civil rights. not during his entire speakership but for much of it, trying to avoid public fights that would give republicans leverage. host: a speaker

ralph norman actually endorsed nikki haley in the republican primary. he then too, of course, from south carolina. but norman ultimately did, back, ultimately did back. um, uh, ultimately did back trump in the primary to try to grab some of these members to hear as they're running off the floor and some of them were involved in some of these discussions and perhaps get some more details. but at the moment, dana, we know that those two members flipped after considerable discussion behind the scenes. >> manu, i'm going to let you go do your thing and and report and talk to those members coming off the floor. i'm actually here now with congresswoman stephanie bice of the great state of oklahoma. thank you so much for running over here from the capitol. uh, what is your understanding of what happened in that room? >> well, i think there were certainly a few members that had concerns, and i think they voiced that by abstaining from voting. originally, three members decided that they wanted to vote for a different speaker candidate. but in the end, i think we

ralph norman has yet to tell his side of the story. i'm anxious to see him walk down the hallway in the next few minutes. i talked to dusty johnson in the room where the conversations happened, and he said, you know, sort of the main point here was just trying to make sure that everyone was on the same page and that republicans understand they do have the same goals. now, for both norman and self, the top of the list of goals is sort of structural, making sure voices like theirs, particularly in the case of self, fairly junior members can be heard and considered, and the work around cutting spending can be brought to the forefront. obviously that's a big priority of the president-elect as well with that doge commission, involving elon musk. but, johnson's allies are insistent he gave no specific commitments, other than to say yes, we're all on the same team, we all have the same goals, and let's get started. >> i know, garrett, i see you looking out of the corner of your eye. please do keep an eye if you get keith self, i know you're a

ralph norman has voted for jim jordan. that is the number two on the screen there. so now you have thomas massie and ralph norman, and if they don't change those votes before the end of this vote, and the others don't way in, you cannot lose these two, and it would mean a second ballot, which is why you see speaker johnson looking a little nervous sitting next to steve scalise. what does that tell you, big picture here? you mentioned the democrats and nancy pelosi who we saw hakeem jeffries go across the aisle and hug when her name was listed. she managed to put a lot through with a 4-seat majority but it is tougher to herd the cats with republicans. >> yeah, what you have here, i used to joke teddy kennedy would get awake in the morning and say the answer is more money, what's the question? you have a handful of republicans who get awake every morning and say i'm voting no, what's the issue? they are contrarians. and you can't have a contrarian caucus with a very, very narrow margin. you were kind about my speakership but i have a much bigger majority, and we had a

congressman ralph norman, thank you very much for speaking with us. appreciate it.nd congratulations, sir. >> thank you so much. >> all right. let's bring in our panel. tommy lairn host of tommy lairn is fearless. and also kevin walling, formerer campaign surrogate and vice president at hg creative. okay. clay, i want to start with you. because what we just heard from ralph norman is this sort of fiscal purity, right? they want a lot of these conservatives to have single subject spending bills, but then, you know, if you break down the details, if you're gonna stick to your guns on sthik like that, how do you get something like reconciliation across? which by its very nature is, you know, an omnibus so to speak. it's all sort of packaged together. can you afford as a -- you know, with a two-seat majority, to be purists on these issues? >> no. and i give credit here to donald trump. because i think this is an immense victorr him. we saw what has happened the past couple of times when we've tried to go through the process of getting a house speaker. there was one repu

we all know what the conversation was with ralph norman or keith self. that is nancy mace giving him a hug on the floor there. let's listen into the floor. that is claudia tenney from new york with the hug there. everybody giving congrat congratulations, sandra. i am sure there will be a phone call soon from president-elect trump, who was working hard to make this happen on a first ballot. >> sandra: joining us now, mollie hemingway. we have been talking throughout, watching this happen, and this is how -- this is how this goes. pretty historic moment, as we saw the two lawmakers approach the front and change their votes to johnson. your thoughts, mollie? >> in ended up being kind of a thrilling moment to see these two guys go down and change their votes. it was a messy process. it was managed on the first vote but it was messy getting there. but that is really again what democracy is like. i think a lot of americans would like to see far more debate in the house than they have been seeing in recent decades about the issues that are confronting america,

ralph norman, i think is a is a bit of a mystery here. he's aligned with the house freedom caucus.e's a anti-spending guy. he's been engaged in meetings and conversations with the speaker as recently as yesterday afternoon. i think if there's anyone who mike johnson knows what he wants, it's probably ralph norman. keith's self is a little bit of an x factor. he's a newer member up here. he's not as outspoken. it's not as clear to me what it is that he would want to be moved. the other possibility, kate, here, is that these members, either collectively or individually, wanted to make a point that perhaps they will support johnson on another ballot. but can voting against him, at least on this first ballot, could serve as a reminder how tenuous his majority is and how he is going to have to listen to and perhaps acquiesce to some of these far right members on every decision going forward. because let's be clear, getting elected as speaker may be the easiest thing mike johnson has to do if he wants to actually enact the agenda items that he

two others ralph norman of south carolina and keith self of texas also voted for alternative speakers magic number forjohnson was 218 — he was two short. and so began a frenzied hour of wheeling and dealing. asjohnson tried to shift the norman and self into the yes column. and in the end it worked. the house will be in order. mr norman- _ the house will be in order. mr norman. johnson. mr self. johnson _ johnson. applause tojohnson�*s on the first round this was the moment the last few minutes as he was escorted by his fellow congressmen to begin a second term as house speaker. at the republicans hope the slender list of margins in the house this was not as wild as 2023, nonetheless the vote today will raise concerns of bigger problems ahead. before we came on airas but air as but the republican just before we came on air, i spoke to republican congressman from tennessee tim burchett. he was initially one of the holdouts. at the time we spoke, it looked as though we were heading into a second round. congressman, you predicted it would go multiple rounds. you did vote for mikejohnson i

congressman ralph norman voted for jim jordan, but they both switched their votes. let's talk right now with doug heye. doug, you used to be a leadership aide for majority leader eric cantor of virginia. what did you see happen today? what's your interpretation? what's your analysis? >> well, since it's snowing outside, it's a bit of reindeer games. and this is typical of what we see usually from freedom caucus members or even before there was a freedom caucus. sort of the genesis of that. but ultimately it's getting attention. you're going to be able to go back to your district or to cpac and things like that and say, look at me. i was a fighter. nobody fought harder than i. you don't necessarily have to have results. you just have to have to show your willingness to fight, because there aren't really any clear results here other than mike. mike johnson winning. clearly there are enough. now nine people that they they've demonstrated that they can, you know, put a gun to mike johnson's head whenever they want to politically. but is there any real satisfaction that

uh, ralph norman could be in there. um, so you have norman and self in there and negotiating directly with the speaker, one or both of them. and that could be that could be the vote. it could it could close things out. >> can i just can i just kind of disagree agree with both the congressman and scott here wherein the dynamics are different because republicans won all three chambers, two chambers in the white house. it's clear that the party is still the same. this is the same, same. show, tired show we've seen even when mccarthy was actually running. so to challenge scott a little bit is clear to me that donald trump doesn't have sway over his own caucus, his own conference. and that's really the problem going into this next administration. if you can't get this one right, how are you going to make the hard votes and the hard decisions? >> so let me go just to check in with manu raju on capitol hill, because, manu, there is something going on in the back of the chamber right now. speaker johnson is meeting with some in

we saw keith self and ralph norman auto with the speaker not walking up the floor.gressman 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 ca

host: keith self, ralph norman and tom massie, historically.guest: the politics we have now, not necessarily safe in a primary election. that is where you have to worry as an incumbent that you could lose reelection. host: who was the longest serving speaker? guest: sam rayburn, who first became speaker in a 1941 and served off and on until his death in 1961. democrat from texas. host: what was his special power? guest: [laughter] he had a lot of special powers but he was a good fit for the nature of the house and the democratic caucus at the time. he was very good at negotiating and balancing the different wings of his party, the northern liberal wing and the southern conservative wing. part of it was conversation, part of it was making sure the southern wing had sufficient influence with being chairs of committees. there were things on the house floor that would divide his party, particularly civil rights. not during his entire speakership but for much of it, trying to avoid public fights that would give republicans leverage. host: a speaker

initially on the first round of balloting, and donald trump got on the vote and actually reminded ralph normannikki haley in the republican primary and norman got behind trump pretty soon thereafter or got behind johnson pretty soon thereafter as a result of trump's lobbying. it's a reminder freedom caucus members. rebels are actually in some of the most pro-trump districts. getting them all on board getting the party unified. >> bret: apparently speaker phone kind of conference call in the office off the house chamber where the president-elect essentially told all of them a vote against the american people and disrespecting me leslie. so, democrats, how do they look at this in the message from hakeem jeffries was one of common ground in reaching across the aisle when they can. how much do you think they are going to do that? >> well, i don't know, there were a lot of kum ba yah moments. mike johnson hakeem jeffries good friend and the 11 caucus members stood up and supported the speaker johnson but the reality is you already hear from the freedom caucus. we saw the chaos in december when it c

i can see it, but i can't get there, with ralph norman. a no vote from her state of south carolina.me. i cannot tell you what they are talking about. at least, some of that work of either figuring out what can be offered or promised, what steps need to happen to get there, is happening just off the house floor, maybe 20 feet from where i am standing. >> you say you can't get there, is that in the speaker's lobby? where is that? >> reporter: no, for folks that have been here, it is, essentially, between the doors of the chamber. there are two sets of doors, the outer doors and inner doors. we said there are no rules at the beginning. there are still some rules, and ice can't go past that outer door to get to where the conversation is happening. >> i just wanted to clarify. so, right now, mike johnson is three votes shy, and they are republican votes that he needs to try to bargain for, so the question is, how quickly can he do this, and can he do it without an adjournment? which, would prolong the agony of all of this. brendan buck, in pointing out that he is not that far from the go

congressman ralph norman voted for jim jordan, but they both switched their votes. let's talk right now with doug heye. doug, you used to be a leadership aide for majority leader eric cantor of virginia. what did you see happen today? what's your interpretation? what's your an

. >> congressman ralph norman came up with a regular for term limits, your thoughts on that, and does it hurt or help with leadership and experience as well in. >>nc well, look, there are always a variety of characteristics that go into members being successful here, seniority, arc of your preferringal career, when you did before you came to congress to be effective. whether you were in the military,, and a lawyer or state senate like my colleague vice chair, whether you were a local mayor, we liv every two years by term limits. if the people in california choose for me to not be theire representative, ill -- i will move on, i have limits. the voter decide that. i will focus on that and live by. >> do you have anything? >> nope. >> he said it was perfect. >> one of best things is american people put term limits on a u.s. president. >> thank you.. >> since 1979, in partnership with cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage from halls of congress and house and senate floors to congressional hearings, party briefings and committee meetings, cspan gives you a front row seat. u

. >> congressman ralph norman has come up with a resolution for term limits for congressmen and womenjust want to get your thoughts on that and does it hurt or help with leadership and experience as well? >> there are always a variety of characteristics that go into members to be successful. what you did before you came to congress in order to be effective, whether you were in the military and a lawyer and in the state senate like my colleague the vice chair where you are local mayor or private sector like me and all of this is the totality. we live every two years by term limits. if the people in the 33rd congressional district in california chose for me not to be their representative, i will move on. i have limits. the voters decide that. that is what our system is about and that is what i will continue to focus on the. >> do you have anything on that? >> he said that it was perfect. [laughter] >> i just want to say one of the best things they did is term limits as a u.s. president. >> thank you. >> thank you. ♪♪ president jimmy carter the 39th president of the united states and the

ralph norman. we will be watching you work.d to cost $50 billion in damages and economic loss. it's engine insurance expert kay stanley is here with more on that in the impact to california's insurance industry. you're watching "mornings with . we'll be right back. he sofi can help fund all your ambitions. no matter how ambitious. bank with sofi to score a higher apy and an epic welcome bonus. ♪ only servicenow connects every corner of your business, putting ai to work for people. pfft ... every corner? every corner, nick. ow! so kate in hr ... hey kate. can focus on people, not process. patty in it is using ai agents to deal with the small stuff, so she can work on the big stuff. and ai helps jim solve customer problems before they're problems. oh, so we all work better, together! my work here is done. excuse me, which way back? so, what are you thinking? i'm thinking... (speaking to self) about our honeymoon. what about africa? safari? hot air balloon ride? swim with elephants? wait, can we afford a safari? great question. li

republicans originally didn't even vote, it was still not enough, there were three other congressmen, ralph norman of south carolina, they voted for somebody other than johnson, it looked like johnson was going to go down. he lost basically. he wanted to save face, he held the vote for an unusually long time, the senate tallying the votes and moving onto the second ballot, during the time he huddled with representatives, presumably offering them some kind of deal, and donald trump got on the cell phone with the two congressmen and apparently things changed, congresswoman nancy mace called trump on her cell phone from the florida alps, trump was, we will be shocked to hear, on the golf course at the time, she handed her phone over to norman, a conversation was had, multiple conversations and they changed their vote to mike johnson, handing him the speakership, so johnson can technically say, no on the first ballot. but again, a little bit shaky, hardly a resounding vote of confidence, they then signed a letter to johnson effectively saying they only voted for him to not delay the certification of t

group to work with doge might not be enough at this point. >> if i heard you correctly, it was ralph normanrom south carolina who was another no vote on this, are they going to continue the roll call all the way through and start another round, how does it work? >> yes, they will continue all the way through, technically embers can continue to change their votes until the gavel falls so nothing is final, however again, at this point with these five members, republican holdouts who are not voting and will vote at the end, plus the two who already came out and voted for somebody other than johnson, things are not looking good, johnson would need a small miracle for him to work out on the first roll call. after that, johnson can decide whether to take a break or go back to office, or just go ahead into the second roll call vote and see how he does. so we will pay very close attention to the rest of this, to what the final roll call for the first one is, exactly how many folks are for or against johnson and figure out what the next steps are from there. >> the market is completely shrugging it

initially voted against johnson in the first round of voting and then two of them, representative ralph normanchanged their votes nearly an hour later as johnson and other republicans huddled. the vote was crucial. this congress can't do any official work until a speaker is chosen. that's quite literally the first order of business they had in the new congress. nbc's correspondent julie tsirkin has been covering the twists and turns today. julie, two years ago when republicans took control of the house it took them 15 rounds, multiple days to select a speaker. that did not happen today. there was that drama. there was a blip that i'm sure speaker johnson wished hadn't happened. >> reporter: he wished it didn't happen, but he definitely came into the day prepared for that to happen and prepared for this to go multiple rounds, multiple days. in the case of kevin mccarthy, it took five days and 15 rounds of voting. with johnson it took one round, but the vote stayed open for an unusually long period of time. we thought they would go straight into the second ballot after we saw that three republic

ralph norman is a lawmaker. i've been covering for some time.actually part of the freedom caucus, but has been one of those who has always stuck by johnson. so it was pretty significant for him, as he said, to make his displeasure heard in this form' that johnson has actually been able to keep to his own kind of leadership style, which is to not make deals with a certain flank of his own republican conference. he did give that promise, right, to include these members in more robust negotiations. trump so far, at least as far as we know, these last couple of weeks since endorsing johnson, has also stayed to his same message that johnson was frankly the only one who could really get 218 votes in just one vote. as we saw yesterday. we don't know of any promises that trump may have made to these republicans, but something that johnson did say and reassured these republicans was, if i break my promise to you all, if i am not able to deliver trump's agenda, there is that motion to vacate. and as we saw yesterday, besides those three initial republican

and then two republicans ultimately flipped keith self and ralph norman. they actually voted for different candidates on the floor of the house, but they ultimately voted after a closed door negotiations, discussions with the speaker of the house and a discussion with donald trump himself, who called those two members. i just caught up with keith self, who is one of the two republicans who initially voted against mike johnson. he told me that there was a commitment by the speaker to include members of the hard right house freedom caucus as part of a negotiation of a bill to advance the trump agenda. there's going to be a big bill, this congress, trying to advance key aspects of the trump agenda. johnson said that they would be part of that negotiating team. now, that's going to be a big question how they deal with that in the weeks ahead. but for now, johnson has the job. i do want to bring in one person who was on the floor here. that's kyung lah tim burchett of tennessee. mr. burchett, mr. burchett, if i can grab you, we're we're live on the air. he's he

pressure on at least two of the three members getting them to switch their votes, we know that ralph normanultiple conversations with trump throughout the day including while the vote was still open and their votes were still on the board for other candidates. trump essentially assuaged their concerns to some degree about johnson saying he's the guy, people like him, acknowledging the reality that he's the only person in this conference who can get the votes and in this case you had two members who were willing to vote against the speaker who had nonspecific complaints about spending and about johnson going after conservative priorities and it sounds like they got nonspecific promises back from johnson saying yes i will fight for you on these issues, yes i agree but no specific seat on this committee or guaranteed a vote on issue x, this was an opportunity for these conservatives to remind johnson of just how much he needs them going forward and for johnson to say essentially thank you very much, i hear you, i'm still with the president-elect of our party and if you want to be with him, get

a call from trump got south carolina's ralph norman and keith self of texas onside. republicans told cnn that johnson respects the power of conservatives. >> the speaker realizes that he needs to listen to the conservative folks to the base. >> we want to make sure that this is honestly a collaborative environment. >> still, johnson will have the narrowest majority in nearly a century. he'll meet with his caucus this weekend to flesh out an agenda now that republicans control both congress and the presidency. but with the gop's razor thin margin in the house, democrats have significant influence, a point the minority leader was keen to point out. >> house democrats will always put american values over autocracy, benevolence over bigotry. the constitution over the cult. democracy over demagogues, maturity over mar-a-lago thomas gift is the director of the center on u.s. >> politics at university college right here in london. but he joins me today from harrisburg in pennsylvania. thank you very much for coming on. thomas, first of all, i want to get to this donald trum

ralph norman is completely out to lunch. he's out of tune with south carolina by a mile. and keith self, i didn't even. i've never heard of him until today. look, these people were willing to put the certification of donald trump's election in limbo and slow down the implementation of his first 100 days. that is unforgivable. and it stands in stark contrast to the mandate that was given to congress and to the executive branch. with donald trump's victory, they had no demands. they just wanted to be involved. they had no alternative. who could get the votes. to me, it's unacceptable. and i hope donald trump learns a lesson from this and really puts the hammer down when he goes into these first 100 days. >> rt makes a great point. the difference is the tea party. we were fighting over ideas and principles. these guys now are all free agents. all of these people, they want their attention. they want to increase their profile. that makes it much more difficult to corral them. >> some of them say, look, they want spending cuts. if you're going to spend more, you know, it needs

but two holdouts, representatives ralph norman and keith self, briefly stood between johnson and the gavel. that is, until president-elect trump picked up the phone. sources tell cnn that trump argued republicans needed unity and voters would not tolerate the dysfunction that would ensue if they could not rally together for the speaker fight. and with several members of the gop expected to join trump's administration, the house majority is set to drop to 215. that means house republicans really can't afford even one defection if legislation passes along party lines. for more on this, we have axios congressional reporter stephen newcomb. he joins us now. stephen, good morning. let's break all this down for me. um, i feel like i saw two takes yesterday. first, that it was incredibly impressive. johnson wrapped it all up on that first ballot, but also that the republican dysfunction is still very much here. what was your takeaway from yesterday good morning. >> yeah, i think both things can kind of be true at the same time. well, you can say, you know, it is partially impressive that gi

representatives ralph norman and keith self. he got on the phone in the middle of a golf game.nd we also saw speaker mike johnson huddling with them before they changed their vote. johnson has insisted he didn't cut any deals to secure the gavel. do you take him at his word? >> yeah. >> you know, i've talked to other lawmakers who have also said that they that he didn't make any concessions. >> but listen, i thought it was really interesting that before the vote went down, mike johnson came out on x with a long. tweet basically saying that he was going to commit to all of these fiscal responsible items. and so while that is not necessarily a concession, he clearly did talk to these lawmakers and listened to their concerns and most likely said, listen, we're going to try to get xyz done. and that sort of was able to it was enough for some of these lawmakers. now, whether or not he made any deals specifically, he says he did not. and other lawmakers say he did not. so we kind of have to take them at their word. >> and this is just the beginning, literally, right. for the 119th co

keith self of texas and ralph norman ultimately cameo support mr. johnson after a private 90 minute delay. now look at the u.s. floor proceedings. >> 20th amendment to the constitution of the united states. for the meeting of the 119th congress of the united states, the house will come to order. [gavel pounds] the prayer will be offered by chaplain. >> would you pray with me? gather us together sovereign got from the north and south, from the east and west, from the right in your mercy, consecrate the work you have called us to do in this 119th congress. as we convened to establish and uphold the laws of this nation may we devote our hearts to you and stretch out our hands to receive your instruction. with our spirit is oriented toward you, may we be willing to put away all selfish motives any rancorous thought that may harbor within us and the sin that we cling to and allowing no people or wickedness to penetrate this tent of governance. on this day and the days and months and years ahead, may we be found to be free of fault and true of faith and a

. >> and other republicans like south carolina congressman ralph norman also nominated others for speaker norman. jordan. but then most change their tune and voted for johnson. some gop members had concerns about federal government spending and wanted assurances from johnson that he has a plan to tackle it. johnson said he will be transparent about where tax dollars are spent and find better ways to use them. he's an honest broker. >> he shows you his true beliefs face value, michigan congresswoman lisa mcclain supported johnson. >> as did tennessee congressman mark green. this is about the trump agenda. new york congressman nick langworthy said president-elect donald trump's endorsement of johnson should be enough. this is the quarterback he's chosen for the cheap. >> in it is it is time that we come together as expected house democrats stood by their same leader from the previous congress. house democrats are united. >> behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber. jeffries, a brooklyn. house. republicans also hoped to quickly wrap up the speaker's election because they c

. >> and other republicans like south carolina congressman ralph norman also nominated others for speaker norman. jordan. but then most change their tune and voted for johnson. some gop members had concerns about federal government spending and wanted assurances from johnson that he has a plan to tackle it. johnson said he will be transparent about where tax dollars are spent and find better ways to use them. he's an honest broker. >> he shows you his true beliefs face value, michigan congresswoman lisa mcclain supported johnson. >> as did tennessee congressman mark green. this is about the trump agenda. new york congressman nick langworthy said president-elect donald trump's endorsement of johnson should be enough. this is the quarterback he's chosen for the cheap. >> in it is it is time that we come together as expected house democrats stood by their same leader from the previous congress. house democrats are united. >> behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber. jeffries of brooklyn. house republicans also hoped to quickly wrap up the speaker's election because they co

kentucky's thomas massie, south carolina's ralph norman, and texas' keith self, who opposed some of thege spending bills johnson asked to avoid government shutdowns last year, voted for someone else first. president-elect donald trump who endorsed johnson intervened and called two of the defectors peered norman and self then switched their votes to put johnson over the top. >> what did the president say to you? >> i'm not going to divulge my conversation with the president. we needed more input from members like myself, not a chairman, not in a leadership position. and i think that is what we have done. >> we got together. mike gave us his assurances he's going to fight for thing supported to the country. and was it worth taking another hour? yes. >> reporter: for johnson, tougher sliding lies ahead. the house must raise the nation's borrowing limit in the coming months and avert another government shutdown in march to keep trump's presidency from being derailed. but he might need democrats to help if johnson again suffers defections. meanwhile, republicans officially took charge of the

>> reporter: republicans ralph norman of south carolina and keith self following suit. johnson appearing to not have enough votes, huddling with supporters. the speaker then making a personal appeal, taking keith self to a private room off the house floor. other republicans working the phones, including president-elect trump, who we've learned directly spoke with the two key republicans, urging them to get in line and back johnson. self telling us they had a lively discussion. the speaker then returning to the floor, shaking hands. then in a remarkable turn of events -- >> mr. norman, johnson. >> reporter: the holdouts changing their votes, re-electing johnson. >> mr. self, johnson. >> reporter: congressman norman saying trump asked why he voted against johnson. >> we needed to impress on mike johnson that we're serious about budget, we're serious about the border, we're serious. is he going to fight? was taking another hour here worth it? absolutely. i would do it all over again. >> reporter: mary, tonight donald trump celebrating what he said was an unprecedented show

rachel: a lot of people who came out for him, let's hear about representative ralph norman coming outrse. >> he said mike johnson is a likable person? >> he said i'm in the middle of a golf game. then he said i hate tennis. you did vote for nikki haley, i did. with you now and i said we will be with mike johnson. ibarra i stepped away from my game, a.k.a. i am really mad at you right now. and you voted for nikki haley. and endorser from south carolina. i really think there was a lot of expectation in do you see that this was going to go a couple rounds. there were multiple guys saying i am undecided. uncommitted to speaker johnson, but i kept saying on the air there's only one putting his name on a definitive no vote which was thomas massey. as soon as more names were added to that this could get interesting, maybe they could do this in round one, and two others devoted at least initially for someone else and johnson was two votes away, during the mccarthy saga they were not that close after round one, around 7 and some of these cases but they were so close they held the vote open unt

second conversation was what i heard and a lot of people say get in line he was told mike and ralph normanations done because he's in a hurry and i get it he's ready to go. what changed my mind i got assurance from mike johnson that we will have a very strong negotiating team with the senate when we go up against them for reconciliation. maria: how do you want this to play out how you want reconciliation to look like. reconciliation was developed to control spending, everybody is focused on the fact that we don't have to get 60 votes in the senate but it was developed to control spending whatever we do we have to control spending in this. i'm looking forward to what doge can do and i'm looking forward to what is in their and truly ready to get a handle on spending. the nine trading in dollars in debt that was pumped into the economy over the last five or six years are hurting us today in your previous segment. you mentioned the higher interest rates it is being demanded by investors that is partly because of government spending. >> the numbers are astronomical president trump will meet wit

south carolina congressman ralph norman telling axios a growing number of lawmakers are asking for assurancesm johnson for spending cuts. thomas massey refusing to vote for johnson. at least 11 other republicans refuse to comment on the vote. johnson can lose one republican vote to maintain the gavel. i want to bring in congressman randy weber. congressman, good morning to you. first, your assessment of where we are with tomorrow's vote for johnson. >> well, good morning, cheryl. thanks for having me. appreciate what you all are doing to help keep people informed. it's going to be interesting to watch, cheryl. here's the thing. we need to grease the skids for president trump. we've got to get the thing moving along. this is not a time for us to have in-fighting. if you pay attention and i know you all do, the democrats always circle the wagons behind whoever the leader is, whether hakim or pelosi. we have to get behind mike johnson and president trump and that's the reason we've got to get this going quickly. we have a very slim margin and we don't have time for gains. cheryl: one of the thin

thomas massie, ralph norman and keith self. which left johnson two votes shy of victory. then he huddled with represents norman and self. punch bowl news was first to report during that meeting, donald trump got on the phone with the two hold-outs and lobbied them to change their votes. which they promptly did giving mike johnson just enough support to remain speaker of the house. speaker johnson was asked about trump's role in helping him remain speaker. >> how was trump's support? >> president trump is the most powerful, certainly the most powerful president of the modern era. maybe in all of american history. and his voice and influence is singular importance. >> the answer was trump is the most powerful president in american history. it is clear that mike johnson will do all he can in the hopes of staying in the erratic president-elect's good graces. trump sees loyalty as a one way street. trump has demonstrated time and time again he will happily throw his own endorsed speaker of the house under the bus when it suits him so mike johnson remains speaker of the house f

congresswoman victoria spartz of indiana, chip roy of texas, andy biggs, ralph norman, all of those are to be the ones we are watching when this roll call actually takes place, which could begin moments from now after nominating speeches take place. we know a lot of these people who have been uncommitted in voting for johnson have expressed concern about fiscal matters. it doesn't seem mike johnson is trying to address those. he posted a kind of manifesto for what he wants out of his speakership. a lot of it focused on fiscal responsibility and a smaller scale of government. pledging to create an independent group that would work with the department of government efficiency to slimmed-down government. we'll have to see if that is enough to assuage some of these right-wing members, or if donald -- or if the calls donald trump had been making will be enough to make the difference. donald trump and elon musk have thrown their support the hind mike johnson, but that is not clear if that will be enough. scarlet: we talked about how there are no rules stating the speaker must be a member of c

and ralph norman. that doesn't necessarily seem to be a concentrated effort to get someone else in. meanwhile we did see holdouts including chip roy go ahead and vote for johnson. we are keeping an eye on the house floor. we saw mike johnson, a couple of his allies, norman and self go into a room where they probably continued the discussion. technically they could come out of there and say, hey, we would like to change our vote and vote for johnson and johnson would go ahead and lock it down. we could see them come out and ask for a motion to adjourn. that could give johnson more time to figure out a path forward. or they could come out and head into a second roll call vote. it will be up to johnson to decide which direction he wants to go in but we did see a surge of support from johnson about an hour or so ago. johnson tweeted out plan -- at this point, we are still waiting to see exactly what the final outcome here is going to be, if we are going to be moving on to a second roll call vote or if there will be successful arm twisting. >> thank you. >>> on the show, the surgeon gene

we're talking about ralph norman and keith we heard a little bit from keith but let's hear more abouthesitant to vote for johnson in the first place. >> the last two years have been a disaster. we passed bills with democrat votes, lots of democrat votes just since trump won the election, congress has passed 300 plus billion dollars in new borrowed money spending. and so that's why this happened. because we need to make sure that the republicans do better under trump. >> okay. so you heard it right there. fiscal conservatives in the house are upset over spending bills that johnson signed off on what kind of battles does he face in the future? >> well, i think whether it's politics or business organizing new house it is like the art of war and president trump did this with speaker johnson to arrange this and work things out in advance so this was very smooth to get them onboard i think the first 100 days they need to look at president trump framework that initial bill for reconciliation that will make things easier to negotiate these things now so you're getting these things put togethe

it comes after speaker mike johnson clinches reelection after congressman keith self and ralph norman switch conversations with president elect trump. trump cal cal calling it a win p telling fox news this process has brought the republican lawmakers closer together adding "america is back"! los angeles district attorney says he had a productive meeting with 20 relatives of the menendez brothers. they discussed a possible sentencing for ere and i can lyle me mendez, who were convice convicted and sentenced to life without parole of shooting and killing their parents. new evidence supports the brother's claim they were becaused by their father. abused by their father. da hocheman is reviewing the facts and evidence in the case is joining us live later this morning. south carolina tops u hauls top 2024 top growth ranking list for the first time ever. 51% of all one way u-haul traffic in and out of the state were for people moving in texas, which was the top state for three years in a row, fell to second. and california, as always, ranked dead last for the move ins for the fifth year in

already said he would vote against johnson. >> and other republicans like south carolina congressman ralph norman also nominated others for speaker norman. jordan. but then most changed their tune and voted for johnson. some gop members had concerns about federal government spending and wanted assurances from johnson that he has a plan to tackle it. johnson said he will be transparent about where tax dollars are spent and find better ways to use them. he's an honest broker. >> he shows you his true beliefs face value, michigan congresswoman lisa mcclain supported johnson. >> as did tennessee congressman mark green. this is about the trump agenda. new york congressman nick langworthy said president-elect donald trump's endorsement of johnson should be enough. this is the quarterback he's chosen for the cheap. >> in it is it is time that we come together as expected house democrats stood by their same leader from the previous congress. house democrats are united. >> behind the most powerful legislative leader in this chamber. jeffries, a brooklyn. house. republicans also hoped to quickly wrap up th

picking up where the congressman left off if you would, siaka, congressman ralph norman voted against mike johnson and then changed his vote and said this... >> we met with speaker johnson yesterday for an extended period of time and i just did not come away with the feeling that the willingness to fight for trump's agenda was there. the only way i had to let my voice be heard was what i did. i would do it again. >> trace: if you look at the from within two without or the other way, siaka, it looks like the president-elect is kind of gaining control of this body. >> i love to see -- first of all happy new year, great to see you. what we are seeing right now is president trump being the leader that the left on the left media has been trying to water down with the whole president elon musk and whatnot. president trump is the one that's controlling the party. maga is moving forward nice and strong and everyone is getting on board because this is not about little fights in the house anymore, this is about an agenda for the american people. we have to close the border, we have to get our e

here is what ralph norman said. >> i knew where trump stood. it was worth my vote. you never know how this thing is going to come out, how everybody is going to work. but i knew we're serious about the budget, we're serious about issues. >> make no mistake, this was a shot across the bow for mike johnson and for donald trump. ahead of the vote, johnson issued a vote of commitments, which included creating a working group to work with elon musk's group and to ask house committees to do appropriations reviews. donald trump did not fill republican brains with fever dreams of working groups and financial reports. clearly, their appetites were not sated by those comments. after today's vote, 11 members of the house freedom caucus issued a list of demands of their own for speaker johnson, writing they vote for johnson despite, quote, sincere reservations about the speaker's track record over the last 15 months. today the republican-controlled house voted on a new rules package for the new congress. and it included completing the threshold that allowed just one member to i

defectors to finally come around after a phone call from president-elect donald trump congressman ralph normanoth changed their votes ended up back in johnson. trump said it was a quote great honor to help johnson get reelected. now republicans are looking to the future they will try to leverage their house and senate majorities to get trump's agenda rolling. and really quickly but nate foy is joining us in west palm beach with more on this. good evening to you. >> hey bill, good evening. after helping house speaker mike johnson secure his reelection yesterday, today president-elect donald trump is focusing on how he can best push it through his agenda in congress legislatively for a trump advisor tells fox news the president-elect prefers a single reconciliation package rather than a two bill approach. that's partially because of this lame republican majority in the house of representatives. >> he pretty much eat every single house republican votes but even in the senate is na narrow. they talk about the things we want reasonable regulation, we were low taxes we want these things we want phys