Mike Johnson persists, but his challenge is just beginning: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online edition of From the Politics Desk, our evening newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News political team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we take a deep dive into how Mike Johnson navigated his fierce re-election bid for Speaker of the House on the first day of the 119th Congress, and the challenges that lie ahead for him. Additionally, “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker speaks with the new Senate Majority Leader, John Thune.

Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday.

Mike Johnson was reelected as Speaker of the House with Trump’s backing, but his challenge is just beginning.

Written by Scott Wong, Sahil Kapoor, Kyle Stewart, Saida Asghar

On Friday, Mike Johnson was narrowly re-elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives, defeating a small right-wing rebellion that ultimately succumbed.

The three conservative rebels initially voted to block Mr. Johnson’s reelection as speaker, threatening to paralyze the House of Representatives in defiance of President-elect Donald Trump’s support of Mr. Johnson, Republican of Louisiana.

They were among nine Republicans who publicly hesitated during the speaker’s vote, two first voting for other candidates before voting for Mr. Johnson, and six more before the first roll call. The vote was withheld. These nine people deserve attention. If adopted, the Republicans’ new rules package would require one to nine members to vacate the speaker’s chair and make a motion to remove Johnson from office.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has been a vocal critic of Mr. Johnson for weeks, voted for Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). Also, Rep. Ralph Norman (R.C.) voted for Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), and Rep. Keith Self (R., Texas) voted for Rep. Byron Donald (R. I voted for Florida.

But that’s when Trump became involved, personally making multiple calls to rally the resistance behind Johnson to enact Johnson’s policies. Trump reportedly called Republican Rep. Nancy Mace while out golfing and then passed the phone to his colleague from South Carolina, Norman.

“He said, ‘Norman, we have the greatest chance ever, the third house…trifecta.’ There’s no chance,” Norman recalled. “And I said, ‘Sir. Mr. President, I agree with you, but I hope Mike has the strength to get it done.’

Mr. Johnson then worked with Mr. Norman and Mr. Self, as well as House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) and former Caucus Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R), among others. He huddled in a cloakroom just off the floor with other leading conservative politicians who voted. Pa.

Norman said President Trump answered the holdout call again. The president’s message to the group was: “Unite!” According to Mr. Johnson.

They showed up about 20 minutes later, and Self and Norman switched their votes, both supporting the chairman.

This gave Johnson the 218 votes he needed to secure victory, with all 215 Democrats supporting House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.).

Read more about Friday’s vote →

But for Johnson, holding the gavel was the easy part.

The House Republican majority will shrink further in the coming weeks as President Trump announced that he will select two House Republicans, Michael Walz of Florida and Elise Stefanik of New York, to serve in his administration. It’s an outlook. Matt Gaetz’s resignation leaves Republicans with a 217-215 majority, giving them zero votes to leave the party during the critical early months of Trump’s presidency. It means that.

And they have a long to-do list. Fund the government by March 14th. Pass President Trump’s agenda on immigration, energy, and taxes. and extend the debt ceiling.

Even if the party returns to full strength, if a few members get sick, have scheduling conflicts, or are unable to get to Washington in time for a critical vote due to weather delays, the House majority will be able to pass party-line legislation. may be difficult to pass.

Read more about the mission awaiting Johnson →

Welcome to the 119th Congress: Meet 11 rank-and-file members of both parties who could play big roles in the close House over the next two years.

John Thune says Johnson has a ‘very tough job’ ahead of him due to thin Republican majority

Alexandra Marquez

In the Senate, new Majority Leader John Thune will have a little more leeway, with a 53-47 majority.

In an interview with Meet the Press host Kristen Welker as the House of Commons chooses its speaker, Thune said Johnson has a “really, really tough job” navigating a narrow House majority. He said he would do so.

“I think he’s been sensitive to his members, but he has a lot of members who are going in a different direction,” Thune said. “So, you know, in such close margins, individual members of Congress can have a lot of influence.”

Mr. Thune said he and Mr. Johnson would have a “strong working relationship” although the two had not worked closely together before.

Thune also said he expects Republican leaders in the Senate and House to work closely with President Trump to achieve policy goals.

“I think they need to do that, and I think we need to work closely as a Senate and as a team with the White House in order to accomplish the agenda that we want to accomplish for the American people. ” Thun said.

Read more →

Congress is aging again

Written by Joe Murphy

The 119th Congress has an average age of 58.9 years, making it the third oldest Congress since 1789, according to an NBC News analysis of Congressional members and date of birth data.

While the Senate has become slightly younger, the House of Representatives is aging, with baby boomers losing seats to Generation X and Millennials.

Analyzing data from Resistome, an American political almanac, and the @unitedstates project, a group that tracks Congressional information, we calculate the ages of the members of Congress who were sworn in as of the first day of each session of Congress. . day. (For example, it does not include 73-year-old Sen.-elect Jim Justice (R-Va.), who will be sworn into Joe Manchin’s Senate seat on Jan. 13. Justice will no longer be a senator on Jan. 3.) It’s for a reason.)

The average age in the Senate is 63.8, which is still many years older than the average age in the House of Representatives, 57.7.

While many people look forward to retiring at age 65, the median age in the Senate is nearly 65, with 49 members at least the same age or older.

Baby boomers still make up the majority of the Senate, but for the first time, Gen Xers outnumber baby boomers in the House of Representatives. More than 180 members are from Generation X and 170 are baby boomers.

Read more →

That’s all from the political desk. If you have any feedback, love it or hate it, email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com.

And if you’re a fan, please share it with everyone. You can sign up here.