Mike Johnson won reelection as House speaker by the narrowest of margins this afternoon, and only after two Republican holdouts changed their votes at the last minute. Johnson won on the first ballot with exactly the 218 votes he needed to secure the required majority. The effort he expended to keep the speaker's gavel portends a tough slog for Trump, who endorsed Johnson's bid. Johnson was well short of a majority after an initial tally in the House, which elects a speaker in a long, televised roll call during which every member's name is called. Three Republicans'Representatives Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Keith Self of Texas'voted for other candidates, and another six refused to vote at all in a protest of Johnson's leadership. The six who initially sat out the roll call cast their votes for Johnson when their names were called a second time. But it took nearly an hour for Johnson to flip Norman and Self. After huddling with Johnson on and off...
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