What one picture tells us about Trump’s power in Congress

Just as Mike Johnson appeared to be two votes away from retaining the leadership of the House of Representatives on Friday, Marjorie Taylor Greene – a loyal Trump ally and Republican firebrand from Georgia – stood in the middle of the House chamber, speaking passionately. his cell phone.

Although she covered the device with her hand, a sharp photographer for the Reuters news agency, Evelyn Hockstein, captured the name of the person on the other side of the conversation – White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.

This was a visible sign of the high interest in the polls of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump enthusiastically endorsed Johnson as the speaker for the upcoming session of Congress earlier this week, and losing on the first round of voting would have been embarrassing.

Behind the scenes, the wheels were turning furiously – creating a frenzy in the house after Johnson first appeared to be temporarily defeated.

At one point, Johnson left the room, followed by two men who had challenged him, Ralph Norman of North Carolina and Keith Self of Texas. Meanwhile, other members of the House and their families circled and chatted, waiting to see what would happen.

When Johnson returned, he was smiling.

Trump himself directly asked Norman and Self to support Johnson via speakerphone, Republican sources told reporters including Politico.

Because the polls had not yet been declared closed, Norman and Self were able to change their votes for the Louisianan, placing him at the 218 mark to retain the speaker’s vote. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie was the only Republican.

Both Norman and Self told reporters after the vote that they spoke with Trump during the afternoon.

Norman said he spoke with Trump twice on Friday. The first was during a several-minute phone call when fellow Republican Nancy Mace handed him her phone and the president-elect was on the other line.

The second time was a longer, 15-minute call that included Norman, Johnson and Self, he said, without confirming the exact time.

“Trump was right when he told me Mike was the only one with a problem,” Norman said.

He also said that Trump is a “fanatic” of the Republican trifecta in Washington – control of the House, Senate and the presidency.

“I said, ‘Mr. President I agree with you, I just hope Mike has a chance to pull this off,'” Norman said.

Self also said he spoke to Trump several times on Friday.

“We discussed the whole plan,” he said during a meeting with the president-elect.

In the end, embarrassment was avoided — even as Trump made it clear that he was focused on other things.

During the vote, as the names of members of the House were called alphabetically, the President-elect was complaining on social media that the US flag might be at half-staff during his inauguration on January 20 – part of the traditional ceremony. funeral after the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

Friday afternoon’s developments underscored just how difficult the Republican majority in the House of Representatives will be in the coming months.

In addition to the three early Republican votes against Johnson, five other conservatives — who have opposed Johnson’s deals with Democrats in the past — abstained from voting during the first roll call. Although he eventually gave up, it was a very visible shot in the speaker’s bow.

After the final vote, the House Freedom Caucus – some of which were temporary – released a statement expressing their support for Johnson because of his support for Trump.

“We did this despite doubting the speaker’s claims for the past 15 months,” they wrote.

Currently, the party has a 219 to 215 margin over Democrats — but that could shrink by two if Congresswomen Elise Stefanik of New York and Michael Waltz of Florida fill the Trump administration jobs. It will be months before a special election confirms his replacement.

This means that Trump needs to have his entire Republican membership if he is to deliver on key pieces of his policies early in his presidency, including immigration reform, new taxes, and tax and spending cuts.

As Friday showed, this could be a long task.

Additional reporting from Rachel Looker