GOP lawmaker explains his switch to support Mike Johnson in contentious House speaker vote.

On Friday, despite losing one fellow Republican in the final vote tally, Mike Johnson, R-La., was re-elected to lead the House of Representatives.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote against Johnson, but it could have been worse for the House speaker as Reps. Keith Self, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., initially voted for someone else but switched their support to Johnson.

Johnson provided assurances to Norman, causing him to change his vote, as reported by Planet Chronicle.

"Norman explained on "The Story" that he asked Mike if he would provide specific examples of fighting for the things they discussed and if he would give his word. Mike responded with "Yes," so Norman took him at his word and changed his vote."

On Friday afternoon, Johnson's future as speaker seemed uncertain when Norman, Massie, and Self voted against him, leaving the gavel out of reach.

Johnson and other lawmakers met in private before the vote, and later switched their votes to support Johnson.

Norman's initial opposition stemmed from worry about Johnson's ability to combat Trump's agenda.

"Yesterday, Speaker Johnson met with us for an extended period of time, but I didn't feel like he had the energy or commitment to support Trump's agenda, according to what he said on "The Story.""

Norman maintained his stance against Johnson, asserting that his vote was the only means of expressing his opinion.

In the first round of voting, the Louisiana Republican emerged victorious along party lines, in stark contrast to his predecessor Kevin McCarthy's drawn-out, 15-round battle in 2023.

Despite some conservatives threatening to withhold support from Johnson due to his handling of government funding and other issues in the 118th Congress, Johnson was re-elected.

"If we continue to allow more Democrat votes than Republicans, we will not be able to solve the country's problems," Norman stated. "I am not willing to repeat the same actions we have taken for the past 14 months, and I will not go along with it."

"Mike has a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate to the American people that he is not only going to say it, but he is going to fight it. He will have Trump's support, which is a positive aspect."

Planet Chronicle Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.