they are not know votes like thomas massey has said he is. he made a number of calls, did not call thomas massey. not because he couldn't reach him. i don't think he wanted to call him because of his expressed no vote and how clear he stated that. we are told he has had some conversations that were positive for speaker johnson. there is a growing optimism that johnson may get it on the first round but there is a lot of uncertainty. in trump world, they are watching this closely. they don't want it to be 2023 where there are four days and 15 rounds of votes. they would like this to be clean, number one to get moving, and most importantly, to certify the election that just happened january 6th. >> we played this from marjorie taylor graham last hour. she has come full circle on this. she is back where she was in the beginning. you put your party and president first and she has been one of those who has argued against and with mike johnson but everybody has to get on board to fulfill trump's promises to the american people. how much pressure or

the final vote 218 to 215 with one another vote cast by kentucky thomas massey mike johnson successful in his bid to remain speaker of the 119th congress with the swearing in of members now underway you can watch live@c-span.org and we are expecting to see the swearing in of house number shortly, we will bring that live on c-span 2. new leadership includes majority leader john thune of south dakota who spoke earlier and members were sworn in officially on the floor by vice president kamala harris in her role as president of the senate she later held ceremonial swearing-in with senators families. >>. [inaudible] >> congratulations everyone. [inaudible background conversations] .... [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] ready? install enemies, foreign and domestic. >> so help me god. >> congratulations. none of us could have done this without our families. [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] [laughter] please raise your right hand. i do solemnly swear. [inaudible] this obligation without any mental reservations i will well and faithfully duties of

they saw that thomas massey was a lost cause.m told messing meese -- nancy mace whipped out her cell phone and called donald trump, who was in the middle of the game of golf and took the whole group to the back room and handed over the line. he said, i need you to be here with me, need you to vote for mike johnson, i need you, i have this mandate and i need you to deliver for may. that is all it took to get them to fall in line. is only 15 minutes later, they went back to the floor, went to the clerk and switched their votes. for me, the two big takeaways, trump still has a ton of influence in that conference. we told you that would be a test of his influence. number two, the fact that johnson needed trump to get over the finish line proves just how difficult governing is going to be for him in the months ahead as they tried to enact this very difficult process julie was talking about, reconciliation, and, keep in mind, there are about to lose two more members when a elise stefanik m mike waltz goes to the trump administration. i

it was on matt gaetz's show on one american news network yesterday in which thomas massey talked about the reasons he wouldn't vote for speaker johnson. >> of chip roy were asked to serve as chairman of the committee would that be enough to get your vote for mike johnson? >> no. you can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up, you can start cutting off my fingers, i'm not voting for mike johnson tomorrow and you can take that to the bank. >> reporter: is the only one who has spoken out against speaker johnson. some have yet to be determined if they are going to vote among the republican caucus, ask euros has a story taking a look and listing some of those people to watch during the course of the day as they vote, 13 on this list from ask io's, a story published in the hill this morning talks specifically about some of the reaction of those who have yet to say whether they would vote for speaker johnson or not, they include chip roy, republican of texas saying on tuesday that he remained as of than undecided because we saw so many of the failures last year that we are conce

quien se mantuvo en contra fue thomas massey. >> este congreso escucharÁ las voces del pueblo, actuaremosoto. lucharemos contra la extrema derecha siempre que sea necesario. stephanie: el nuevo congreso puede pasar a sus siguientes actividades. el lunes donald trump serÁ oficializado como el prÓximo presidente de estados unidos en una sesiÓn bicameral, que hace unos aÑos quedÓ entorpecida por una turba que entrÓ al capitolio. recordemos que con esto se avanza en este camino para la inauguraciÓn del prÓximo gobierno del republicano el 20 de enero. carla: el exjugador de los san francisco 49, tendrÁ que esperar varias semanas mÁs para saber si saldrÁ de prisiÓn. sus abogados estuvieron en el tribunal el viernes, pero su caso continuarÁ hasta el 16 de enero. el tribunal busca ver quien tiene jurisdicciÓn. recordemos que el jugador habrÍa sido declarado culpable por violar a una mujer bajo amenaza de armas de fuego, esto mientras fue a su casa a una entrevista de trabajo como niÑera en 2015. veremos como ser al desenlace. hablando de temas relacionados con el deporte, es el momento de conecta

. >> reporter: kentucky congressman thomas massey is one of the house republicans who say he won't vote for johnson. and others say they are unsure. >> i remain undecided as do a number of my colleagues because we saw so many failures last year that we are concerned that might limit or inhibit our ability to advance the president's agenda. >> reporter: trump says he will be calling some of the holdouts to urge them to vote for the speaker. nidia cavazos, cbs news, capitol hill. >>> coming up, deadly fireworks blast. how three people were killed in hawaii during a celebration. >>> and some of the new laws in the new year that will be impacting millions of americans. >>> an illegal new year's eve fireworks display near honolulu turned into a deadly explosion, killing three people and critically injuring at least two dozen more. the state's governor compared the force of the explosion to a bomb. authorities say a partygoer lit a bundle of aerial fireworks which then fell on its side, setting off crates of additional fireworks. a fourth person was killed in a different fireworks explosion o

. >> if you were talking to thomas massey, for those who had philosophical holdouts with mike johnson, making deals with democrats and so forth, what do you tell them? >> well, is he for the trump agenda or not, it is very simple. right now he is voting against the enacting trump agenda if he doesn't vote for the speaker. >> there's going to be some back-and-forth and people can vote and change their mind and pressure, maybe the market is telling us they think johnson is going to win, and it is going to turn out that everything is fine. >> well, i hope they are right, i think there is a good chance they will be right, maybe not on the first ballot there is a good chance that mike johnson will be re-elected as a speaker and everything can proceed but, i tell you, you shouldn't be sweating this, this is a ridiculous situation to be in. >> is it ridiculous for the margin or for other reasons? >> it is not unusual for washington, it is ridiculous because of the egos involved, i think that when mr. musk pulled the rug out from under the speaker, it didn't help, we left him swinging in the

the final vote 218 to 215 with one another vote cast by kentucky thomas massey mike johnson successful in his bid to remain speaker of the 119th congress with the swearing in of members now underway you can watch live@c-span.org and we are expecting to see the swearing in of house

kentucky republican thomas massey has said he will not support johnson and another republican has raised their concerns as well. >> i remain undecided as to a number of colleagues. >> i don't believe he has the votes on friday. >> and if the house does not elect a speaker by monday when it's scheduled to certify november's election results it could delay the finalization of trumps white house win until a new speaker is elected. i'm sure trump is absolutely thrilled by that. at least there will be violence. theoretically. good night. all in with chris hayes starts now. >>> tonight on all in. >> all america stands with the people of new orleans. >> details on attacking new orleans and las vegas. >> both individuals were u.s.- born citizens. the individual in new orleans appears to have acted alone. >> as the next administration bends reality for its own purposes. >> the president-elect also said the criminals coming in are far worse than the criminals we have in our country. >> what we learn about both attacks and the information war surrounding them. >> cheney was behind it and so was bet

he said two, but it's sort of how the math works, depending how thomas massey of kentucky votes. basically, if any two si republicans vote against him, he loses. i understand math a little bit, but this seems like more than one.reunn >> he can only afford to lose one republican vote. republican congressman thomas massey has already said he won't be backing johnson. >> why are you not committed to speaker johnson as the next speaker of the house? >> well, i'll tell you. i look at people's track record. and unfortunately, we will not be able to deliver on president trump's agenda as the same happened in 2016 because it hasp to be done legislatively if we don't have speaker with the courage, vision, and the plan. >> i remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues. nu we saw so many of the failures last year. right now, i don't believe he has the votes on friday. >> remember that nothing can beh done in the new congress until a speaker is chosen. it cannot swear in new members. it cannot form committees. c it cannot pass legislation. it cannot certify donald trump's election vict

so, you know, thomas massey of the world has in the stepped down. he was making a stand and wasn't going to change. he's had some success and was a primary, but i don't think there's going to be fall back. there's just this sense from sources in trump world as you put it that this is behind them. >> onward it is. thank you so much, bret. >> you bet. >> well, here's that moment that ralph norman and keith self changed their votes, securing mikens election. >> mr. norman, johnson. mr. self is recorded as johnson. [applause] >> let's bring in former white house deputy chief of of staff under president george w. bush and a fox news contributor. carl, thanks for being here. i guess my question to you is, is it your sense that if it wasn't going to be mike johnson today, that it wasn't going to be mike johnson? >> no, i think it was going to be mike johnson in matter what, whether it took one ballot or several. because there was nobody else in the caucus who was as well liked and respected as he is, and who has done in difficult circumstances a good job.

thomas massey is already a no vote.vote, another republican that says another name, that's it. that's the ball game. he can't get there. you've got perhaps half a dozen, maybe more undecided membermemb. folks coming out are keeping their cards close to their vest. they may be true even tomorrow. a lot of horse trading i expect. >> talk about the horse trading. what are the other names bandied about? >> reporter: the other names of potential hold-outs are rob normal from south carolina, chip roy, victoria sparks said she doesn't trust mike johnson. it's hard to see how they find their way to yes now except for these caveats. it's not clear there's anyone else who can get to 218 votes. sparks' comments aside, he doesn't have the level of -- kevin mccarthy had. mccarthy had too many broken promises. although there's some of that with mike johnson, there's an understanding of the bad hand he was dealt taking over with a small majority and a willingness to give him a little more space. there's going to be that effort to extr

thomas massey of kentucky making it clear he was a firm no. >> if you lose on the first ballot? >> it's part of the process. >> reporter: but he had the support of president-elect donald trump, who said a win for johnson would be a big affirmation for his presidency and big win for the republican party. at least 17 republicans on the fence despite trump's endorsement. just before 1:00 p.m., the clerk calling roll, massey voting against. >> massey. >> immer. >> and republicans norman and self following suit. >> reporter: johnson appearing to not have enough votes, huddling with supporters, then making a personal appeal, taking keith self to a private room off the floor. other republicans working the phones, including president-elect trump who we learned directly spoke with the two key republicans, urging them to get in line and back johnson. they had a lively discussion, we're told. then in a remarkable turn of events. >> mr. norman, johnson. >> reporter: holdouts changing their votes. >> mr. self, johnson. >> reporter: congressman norman saying trump asked why he voted against h

but i kept saying on the air there's only one putting his name on a definitive no vote which was thomas masseye 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 until those strategic phone calls could be placed from the president-elect and two of those reflect back, johnson needed 218 is a minimum and he got exactly 218 and they got this done in one round which is what needed to happen, there was no viable alternative to speaker johnson. he was endorsed by the president-elect, the republicans have no margin for error and they did not want their very first act of the new congress to be dysfunctional failure with a slim republican majority and they were to their credit able to avoid that. rachel: this is what newt gingrich those. >> i could not have been the kind of speaker he is. i don't have the patience, i don't have

. >> it seems he has done that but you have thomas masseys of the world, i voted for the president but i don't want to speaker johnson to be speaker. who then? who is the alternative? i haven't had that name. >> to certify the donald trump election win, no one seems to know the answer. if we don't have a speaker, what happens next? >> president chuck grassley. if everything goes along that line, the it, i can't say it because i forgot because i haven't practiced law, chuck johnson generally becomes the president, chuck grassley becomes president. a fine guy, done a lot for the country. i don't think chuck grassley wants to be president. ashley: but you he doesn't. great stuff as always. a quick programming note, at 4:00 eastern time on fox business, the terror investigation in new orleans. 4:00 on kudlow. let's get to these markets, strong starch to learn new year after selloff to the end of last year, some profittaking. great to have you here, we talked about downtrends in the market but a bit about momentum into the new year. do you think it is there? >> happy new year to you and you

one hard know from thomas massey. the democrats expected to vote for their leader, hakeem jeffries. let's listen to what he had to say in december talking about republicans and their tactics are passing legislation. >> what we've seen repeatedly amongst my extreme maga republican colleagues is a a y one thing to the american people before the election, and then do something different after the election. the house republicans said they were going to protect sources get a medic inserted their presidential nominee. and now we learn after the election that house republicans are planning to try to cut medicare and social security and in it as we it. house republicans said before the election that they were focused on improving the quality of life of working-class americans, but after the election they are focused on tax cuts for the wealthy, , the well off and the well-connected. for years up until this election the incoming president-elect has said that we're going to build a wall and mexico will pay for. but now after the election house republicans are planning to use the budget reconc

that is thomas massey, but fox is also told there could be 12 up to 27 other republicans that could vote for someone else. again could because they called all change their minds when they get on the house floor and we won't know till the vet begins at noon and we're waiting for that. we're waiting to see the house floor adjourn the 118th congress. what we'll see first is they'll take a quorum call to assess who is here to vote and expecting everyone to be here today and nominating speeches for speaker and if everyone shows up, ashley, the magic number is 218 to win. now, johnson has been meeting with some of these holdouts in the last couple of days. he's been talking about everything from cutting the deficit to figuring out a better way for the house to function and work. congresswoman lauren bovert said an interesting idea for johnson. johnson could secure this in the first round if he commits to making congressman chip roy in charge of the rules committee and johnson poured cold water on that suggestion this morning. watch. >> i don't think [inaudible] not doing anything in exchange f

thomas massey, we heard one member state he's going to be voting for somewhere else. can get away with one present vote. besides that, we need to be all on board. cheryl: senator ron johnson has an op-ed in the wall street journal this morning and the title of it is fiscal sanity isn't too much to hope for this year and this goes to the agenda for the 119th congress with republicans in control. albeit with a small majority. but he talks about all of the -- the fraud, the waste with covid relief, the blank checks that were written for years. he says we need to start with a reasonable approach for setting budget caps. and certainly reconciliation could be a piece of the strategy here once we get through the speakership vote tomorrow. is that your number one priority, spending? >> yeah, i think so. look, first we're going to do border and we have to do taxes. doge is going to be a little bit longer of a turn. we're all working on it. i've got a couple of bills for overpayments of nearly $500 billion that has taken place that went unenforced so there's low lying fruit we'

generally like him and they disagree with someone of his policies and i think the representative thomas massey has very sound philosophical disagreements with him when it comes to ukraine especially. but as you also mentioned, guy, earlier, there's nobody else standing up to do this. there's nobody else who could have taken to the same kind of support. mike johnson leading and donald trump going to keep everyone in line and hopefully that'll be the recipe for success. meanwhile joe biden is trying to do a few things to slow down donald trump as he tries to take the house. headline from bloomburg saying biden to ban new oil drilling over vast stretch of u.s. atlantic/pacific waters. here's devin miller talking about what this mean means. watch. >> president trump campaigned for two years straight on drill baby drill, open up american energy, get the cost of living down, get inflation down, make america the energy super power of the worship god, make america energy dominant and energy independent and what is joe biden doing on his way out oturu door? trying to lock away america's energy resource

thomas massey refusing to vote for johnson.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 things the house leadership wrote on the op-ed was about the issue of reconcilia

as of tonight, mike johnson has lost the vote of republican congressman thomas massey.eet journal," congressman massey plans to vote against handing the gavel back to house speaker mike johnson, a step that threatens johnson's speakership and has put massey crosswise with gop colleagues and president-elect donald trump. massey waves off the political risks. he's survived attacks by trump and his own party before. his wife of they can decades died last year. "i don't know how to say this without cussing," massie said, when asked about pressure to fall in line. "if they had i had no fs to give before, i definitely have no fs to give now." and "the hill" is reporting that republican representative victoria spartz is not yet ready to vote for mike johnson. this is what she told steve bannon on tuesday. >> i don't trust him that he's going to deliver. for the last year, he's been the speaker. every time he folded to the swamp. >> still with us, congressman eric swalwell. congressman, i'm so struck by the difference between the democrats. no democratic speaker in the history

kentucky republican thomas massey has said he will not support johnson and another republican has raised colleagues. >> i don't believe he has the votes on friday. >> and if the house does not elect a speaker by monday when it's scheduled to certify november's election results it could delay the finalization of trumps white house win until a new speaker is elected. i'm sure trump is absolutely thrilled by that. at least there will be violence. theoretically.

johnson can only afford to lose one republican vote, kentucky congressman thomas massey already doublingn on his no vote. nonetheless, johnson remaining positive about his chances. here he is with larry kudlow yesterday. >> i think it's going to be okay, larry. we'll have maybe one no vote. i think. i think we get it done on the first round. i'm a proven fighter. i'm a maga con conservative. i can get everyone in the broad array we have in the house gop to work together. that's what's necessary in the days ahead. ja.cheryl: johnson meeting mems with the house freedom caucus on thursday. still, some lawmakers are not ready to commit. watch. >> are you undecided right now? >> i will make a decision tomorrow. but we have to have the speaker discuss some things and a lot of things we agreed. >> i'm undecided. >> what do you need to hear still? >> we're talking about that now. >> can you be a little more specific? >> no, i'll tell you, it's normal things you report on, fiscal discipline, secure the border, pass reconciliation, pass tax cuts and jobs act, pass the 19 other appropriation bills

thomas massey has doubled down on his no.etheless, johnson telling larry kudlow he remains positive. >> i think it's going to be okay, larry. we'll have maybe one no vote. i think. i think we get it done on the first round. i'm a proven fighter. i'm a maga conservative. i'm also someone that can get everyone in that broad array to work together and that's what's necessary in the days ahead. cheryl: johnson met with members of the house freedom caucus thursday who were seeking prom moi'ses on spending -- promises on spending cuts and assurances that members will be involved in high stakes negotiations. still some lawmakers not ready to commit. >> are you undecided right now. >> i'll make a decision tomorrow. the speaker is discussing things and a lot of things -- >> what do you need to hear still? >> we'll talk about that. >> can you be more specific? >> no, i'm going to tell you, it's the things you report on, fiscal discipline, secure the border, pass reconciliation, pass tax cuts and jobs act, pass the 19 other appropriatio

that's what they did, they lost one, what was it, thomas massey did not vote for mike johnson. mike johnson still won in the first round. that said, they can't afford to lose anymore votes. they've got to get salt lawmakers on board with the $1,100,0100 billion for the bor. >> we have been funding illegal immigration. we'll see more resources whether it's healthcare, education, more money going back to our communities but the number one thing that lawmakers need to realize today is they promised us economic security and that means a massive tax overhaul. i think looking at the salt deduction and increasing to it a certain amount, maybe that's on the table. but at the end of the day, president trump is going to negotiate this. he wants one big deal. maria: there's two things, salt and the debt ceiling. a lot of republicans say i can't raise the debt ceiling, can't vote for that. that's where you have these couple days in mar-a-lago this weekend hopefully we'll get answers there. with just 12 days until his return to the white house, president trump is also laying out his america

ralph norman, thomas massey and keith self were the three republican detractors, but speaker johnson pulled norman and self aside and convinced them to change their votes before the gavel. some have been unhappy with how johnson handled recent spending bills. >> they expect us to act as adults, and it's time for everyone to put their big boy pants on and get to work. >> president elect trump endorsed mike johnson and made calls to other republicans who seem to be on the fence. a speaker vote had not gone to a second round for 100 years, until speaker kevin mccarthy took 15 rounds to get elected. it also took several rounds after mccarthy was ousted to select mike johnson for the first time. if johnson had not been elected, members would not have been sworn in and president elect trump's election wouldn't have been certified until a speaker was chosen. in new york, connor hansen, fox news. >> all right, let's get you outside now on this first weekend of the new year. and a wet start on this friday. but i see a little sun in that sunset looking over the oakland estuary. and i. you know

republican congressman thomas massey has already come out against johnson. no other republican has publicly said they would vote against him, but some have questioned whether johnson will get enough support. >>> ahead of that vote tomorrow, house republican leadership has unveiled a new set of rules for the next congress. the rules package includes a provision that would make it harder to oust a speaker, but it doesn't remove the threat entirely. the set of meetings takes one member to trigger the ouster vote. it would be raised to nine members. speaker johnson along with the majority leader and other gop leaders have published an op-ed on foxnews.com calling on republicans to quickly deliver president-elect donald trump's america-first agenda. they write in part this -- we must remain united. despite the popularity of president-elect donald trump's campaign promises, congressional democrats will do everything they can to stop us. every major decision will require near unanimity from house republicans. we have neither time nor votes to spare. no one expects

sure, he won the first round and he still had a republican defector in thomas massey and even though republican congressman chip roy, who declined to support johnson until the vote hinted at consequences, if he does not deliver, saying let's make no mistake about it. there will be things that are, in fact, red lines we need to deliver. we can have no more of the nonsense that happened before christmas. what does that tell you about the predicament that speaker johnson finds himself in, even as he has now been elected as house eager again? >> charles, good evening. it is good to be with you. without a doubt, the last congress was a difficult one for house republicans, really embarrassing. it took a whole week to elect a speaker when they first took power and that speaker was deposed, kevin mccarthy the, just some seven or eight months later. then there was about a three week period for the house had no speaker as republicans were trying to figure out who could lead them. well, mike johnson emerged out of that chaos and to be fair to him, sure, this time things are off to a better star

johnson that gavel and, as you mentioned, we already have at least one republican, congressman thomas massey said he's not going to vote for johnson. he spelled it out in a lengthy x post. he explained that he was upset with johnson's leadership, saying that, quote, he already demonstrated this month but in december that he won't tell the president what is achievable and what is not achievable in the house and he lacks the situational awareness himself to know what can pass and what cannot. now, a handful of lawmakers are undecided at this point. that includes representatives chip roy, ralph norman, victoria sparts but some who voted against johnson in a challenge to his speakership last may are now changing their tune. we saw today ohio rep warren davidson saying in an x post that, quote, president trump wants speaker johnson and to quote general patton a good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week. and kelly, as you noted, the stakes indeed are high. any lawmaker who blocks the speaker, they're delaying progress on their own republican agenda, that of

representative thomas massey of kentucky says -- >> he does not have my vote. >> if they vote for another candidate, johnson will lose. >> there are those potentially dozen holdouts. >> johnson says he has been meeting with those holdouts and feels optimistic. >> i think we get it done on the first round. certainly hopeful for that. we have to stick together. >> lawmakers can hold multiple rounds of speakership votes. that process lasted for three weeks in 2023, when kevin mccarthy lost the gavel. if republicans don't elect johnson in the end. it's unclear who will keep his place. the house would be paralyzed until it had a new speaker. >> we saw it happen two years ago. it was an embarrassment for our party. >> now the stakes are arguably higher. lawmakers are supposed to certify the presidential election results this monday, january 6. it's unclear how they can do that without a speaker and january 20 is inauguration day. >> we would have ourselves a constitutional crisis, i would argue. >> well, starting this weekend, people can pay their respects to the late former president, jimmy ca

republican congressman thomas massey has already said he won't be backing johnson. >> why are you not committed to speaker johnson as the next speaker of the house? >> well, i'll tell you. i look at people's track record. and unfortunately, we will not be able to deliver on president trump's agenda as the same happened in 2016 because it has to be done legislatively if we don't have speaker with the courage, vision, and the plan. >> i remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues. we saw so many of the failures last year. right now, i don't believe he has the votes on friday. >> remember that nothing can be done in the new congress until a speaker is chosen. it cannot swear in new members. it cannot form committees. it cannot pass legislation. it cannot certify donald trump's election victory. electing a speaker of the house on day one is supposed to be a formality. it's not supposed to be hard. so this fight over the speaker's gavel doesn't bode well for the ability of this incoming congress to actually govern. it's going to have to govern starting right away, however. last year'

at least one republican thomas massey from kentucky, said that he was looking at someone else for speaker 3 representatives in the and voted for someone else. and that was essentially enough to be real. but johnson's bit to become speaker, also in 3 other republicans, did not vote. it meant that he won overall, but not the majority of those who cast their boat. it looks as if the highest is now going to go to a 2nd ballot almost immediately. what that means is those who didn't vote, and those who voted for someone else will come under intense pressure from johnson and these team, but also from donald trump, who was calling representatives over the last 72 hours to put pressure on them to back his choice. mike johnson, but it shows that there is a problem in the republican party and they're not going to be united, which is what the see the have to be to try and push forward with donald trump's agenda. know until the speak to the elected. the congress can't get on with any business. they can't endorse donald trump and sanctify donald trump's election victory on january. the 6th, we can put

voted for ron desantis for president, and at one point, donald trump came out against thomas massey, who, by the way, is mike, congressman from kentucky. uh, in one of his primaries, unsuccessfully. by the way, massey overcame that opposition from trump. so if you're thinking like you can just get donald trump on the phone here, uh, maybe that helps with ralph norman and the other guy, but it's it's not going to help with massey. i think the the mindset of the republican party here is important. we're not in the peanut gallery. we're we've been elected to govern, you know, the house, the senate and the white house. the american people put the republican party in charge across the board. and so there are some responsibilities here to the voters who cast those votes to say, are you going to do something in washington other than sit around and read each other's names out loud all day? >> one of the other things, one of the other points i think is worth noting is that by some measures, mike johnson is the most conservative speaker of the house ever, just in terms beliefs. now, i realize

we knew going into this at thomas massey would be one of those votes against johnson.m hemmer instead. other votes against johnson, a bit more surprising here. keith self of north texas, representing counties just north of dallas, voting for byron donalds, and ralph norman of south carolina, who was pretty coy when i talked to him yesterday, coming and going from the speaker's office, voting for jim jordan. mike johnson's task now will be to convince, at least, one of those three to change their mind. we have a bit of additional drama that will end up being something for the history books, with six other republican members that were part of that holdout group, sitting on their hands when their names were first called in the roll call, withholding their boats till the very end on that second time around. you saw the likes of chip roy and andrew clyde and michael cloud of texas, who had all been johnson skeptics, ultimately, voting for, technically, former speaker mike johnson, to resume the role. johnson has a decision to make. you see him talking there but dusty johnso

its war against russia and other stances have created republican skeptics, including kentucky's thomas massey, the only republican to publicly claim he won't pull for johnson today. >> you can start cutting off my fingers. i am not voting for mike johnson tomorrow, and you can take that to the bank. >> if all decmocrats vote for hakeem jeffries as expected, all it takes is one vote against johnson to block him. johnson met with trump on new year's day, now touting trump's support and proclaiming he will claim victory on the first ballot. >> every single republican can put aside their preferences every day and work together for the team. >> reporter: johnson and allies arguing that congress can't start the work republicans were elected to do or even certify donald trump's election until the party rallies around a speaker. ideally him. >> everyone understands the importance of the moment, and i think they will come and get along. >> reporter: now, part of johnson's challenge here is many of the members withholding support for him want different things. promises he makes to some on the right mig

that's already been claimed by kentucky congressman thomas massey.s not the only republican casting doubt. johnson moments ago says he's not giving into demands of his colleagues on the fence. >> got to make deals with anyone, there's no quid pro quo. i don't do anything in exchange for a vote other than to make the institution work as efficiently as possible. >> let's bring in and be seen as capitol hill correspondent allie vitelli, congressional reporter for the hill, former republican congressman from florida and former democratic congressman from new york. great to have all of you with us. two hours to go now. we know massie is an over johnson. who else are you watching? >> there's a lot we are watching although all of them are leaving the door open hanging out on the fence however you want to say, they are not hard no and that is important when you think about the stakes for mike johnson because you're right to point out there's no margin for error because he's already lost the one vote he can afford to lose. i'll put up on the screen a list of

thomas massey of kentucky is a hard no. 17 others are undecided. we could see a real fight.t's a real test of donald trump's sway over the party. without a speaker, congress basically comes to a screeching halt, unable to even certify donald trump's victory. >> george: many of president-elect trump's picks for cabinet picks also faces controversy. pete hegseth, choice for defense secretary. the senate committee is digging deeper into his background. >> abc news learned the top republican and democrat on the senate armed services committee has been reaching out to that veterans organization that pete hegseth used to run appearing to request additional information about those recently reported allegations of the 2017 sexual assault. those accusations that hegseth financially mismanaged the group. no charges were ever filed. pete hegseth denied the claims. but it is a reminder he still faces a real uphill battle for confirmation. >> george: thank you very much. gio? >> gio: thank you very much. now the search for motive in the cyber truck explosion outside the trump hotel in la

at least one republican congressman, congressman thomas massey has already come out saying he won't backin a lengthy post on x explaining his decision, he criticized johnson's leadership saying quote, it's mike johnson who routinely passes major legislation, like ukraine, omnibus, with only a minority of republicans, and then relying on most democrats. massey went on to say he also owes his current speakership to the democrats. of course there was that vote to, again, oust johnson and democrats came in to save him. so about a dozen other lawmakers have continued to express some concerns about johnson. we also had congressman chip roy saying he's undecided. he posted on x that change was needed. he's saying that the gop was divided on a last minute cram down to force approval to borrow $5 trillion more without a plan for much less of an actual penny of spending cuts, and then he goes on to say all of which could have been avoided with any serious planning and communication. so criticism there. of course the spending debate that happened back in december, but look, it's not clear at this p

if you have one or two people, one or two om masseys who are stubborn, not intimidated, it's game over. >> you have definitely one thomasr joining us. f >>> thank you for getting up "way too early" on this friday morning. "morning joe" histarts right no. w ♪♪ >>> bomb making materials found in houston. explosives packed inside

if you have one or two people, one or two om masseys who are stubborn, not intimidated, it's game over. >> you have definitely one thomas massie. >> you do. >> thank you for joining us. f >>> thank you for getting up "way too early" on this friday morning. "morning joe" histarts right no. w ♪♪ >>> bomb making materials found in houston. explosives packed inside a cooler found in the french quarter. these are just some of the new details officials uncovered in their investigation into the new orleans terror suspect. we'll go live on the ground with the very latest. >>> plus, we now know the identity of the cyber truck driver whose car exploded outside the trump international hotel in las vegas. we'll dig into what was found at the scene as authorities race to find a tive there. >>> also ahead, hours from now, mike johnson will face a tough fight to remain speaker of the house. we'll break down how this could all play out, and the republicans to watch ahead of today's critical vote. >>> also, president joe biden honors liz cheney and benny thompson, the leaders of the january 6th select committee, with one of the nation's

massey of kentucky, republican from that state. he said several times he won't be casting about for speaker johnson. it was on matt gaetz's show yesterday on which thomasassie talked about some of the reasons why he wouldn't vote for speaker johnson. [video clip] >> if chip roy was asked to service chairman of the rules committee, with that be enough to get your vote for mike johnson? >> no. you can pull my fingernails out, shelled bamboo and then, start cutting off my fingers, i'm not voting for mike johnson tomorrow. you can take that to the bank. host: that was yesterday. he is the only one who has spoken out against speaker johnson, as greta said at the top. it is yet to be determined if they will vote amongst the republican caucus. axios has a story listing some of the people to watch during the day as they vote. 13 on this list from axios. the story published in the hill this morning talks specifically about some of the reaction of some who have yet to say whether they would vote for speaker johnson or not. they include chip roy, the republican from texas, saying on tuesday that he remained, as of then, undecided. because we saw so many failures

won't hold onto the speakership, and he probably has got is there is already one congressman, thomas masseyhell or high what he is going to vote against mike johnson. that puts them in a very perilous position. there has been public posturing and behind—the—scenes wrangling to try to sew up those votes ahead of this vote in about an hour's time because of the really, the last thing the republicans want is what happened last time there was a vote for the previous speaker, mccarthy, haven't mccarthy, because that went to 15 rounds of voting overfour went to 15 rounds of voting over four days and clearly the republicans don't want to see that sort of circus happened is time around.— time around. and the republicans, - time around. and the republicans, then, i time around. and the i republicans, then, hold time around. and the - republicans, then, hold all three seats of power in washington of the presidency, once donald trump returns to the white house, and the majority leaders in the senate and the house. but does that mean necessarily it is going to be plain sailing for donald trump when he