Johnson gains GOP support, strengthening Trump's influence.

On Friday, President-elect Trump managed to unite House Republicans in re-electing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, despite internal party divisions and apprehensions about Trump's ability to bring the party together after the failure of a government spending bill late last month.

The bill that led to 38 Republican defectors and a potential government shutdown sparked fears that Trump's grip on the Republican Party was weakening. However, these concerns were put to rest on Friday evening when Trump secured the majority votes for a House speaker who faced opposition from the House Freedom Caucus, despite their party holding a slim majority in the chamber.

Johnson had only one GOP defector, and after the first round of voting, it was uncertain if the party could maintain its razor-thin majority.

Many credited Trump directly as a sign of his continued influence in the party, with all but one holdout changing their vote.

Two Republican holdouts who changed their minds to support Johnson as speaker did so after speaking with Trump.

Trump spoke with Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, after they initially voted for someone other than Johnson for speaker.

One of the two holdouts who changed his "no" vote on Johnson to a "yes" vote, revealed on Friday that he made the decision after speaking with the president-elect multiple times on the phone.

"Self stated to reporters that his decision to support Johnson was centered on making the Trump agenda successful. He emphasized the importance of the Republican conference being strong in order to achieve this goal."

Norman later confirmed to reporters that he spoke with Trump about Mike Pence's election prospects. He stated that Trump did not change his vote but rather expressed a "commitment that things are going to change" from Johnson.

On Friday, Planet Chronicle reported that the president-elect had been in regular contact with House Republicans during the process.

The eleven Republican members of the House Freedom Caucus, who had disagreed with Johnson on various provisions in the government spending bill last month, did not hold back in their letter to him on Friday night. They stated that their decision to support Johnson was solely based on their commitment to the president-elect.

The letter, penned by Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, expressed their support for Johnson in order to maintain their commitment to President Trump and expedite the certification of his electors.

"Although we had reservations about the Speaker's past performance over the past 15 months, we proceeded with the plan. Now, Speaker Johnson must demonstrate his ability to implement President Trump's ambitious agenda."

In a post on X, Johnson thanked Trump directly.

"President Trump thanked Congressional Republicans for their unity in delivering his America First agenda. He urged them to stay together and quickly pass the agenda, saying 'Let's get it done.'"