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

Shortly after Mike Johnson appeared to fall two votes short of retaining the House speakership on Friday, Marjorie Taylor Greene — a staunch Trump ally and flamboyant Republican congresswoman from Georgia — stood in the middle of the House floor, speaking carefully about her mobile phone.

Although she covered the device with her hand, sharp Reuters photographer Evelyn Hochstein captured the name of the person on the other end of the conversation – the new White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles.

It was a palpable sign of President-elect Donald Trump’s huge interest in this vote. Earlier this week, Trump enthusiastically endorsed Johnson as speaker for the upcoming session of Congress, and a first-round defeat would be an embarrassment.

Behind the scenes, however, the wheels were turning madly – creating a chaotic interlude in the House after Johnson initially appeared headed for at least a temporary defeat.

At one point, Johnson left the room, followed by two of the men who opposed him, Ralph Norman of North Carolina and Keith Self of Texas. Meanwhile, the other members of the Chamber and their families bustled and chattered, waiting to see what would happen next.

When Johnson finally returned, he was all smiles.

Trump himself reached out to Norman and Self to endorse Johnson over a high-profile call, Republican sources told news outlets including Politico.

Because the vote was not officially declared closed, Norman and Self were able to switch their votes to the Louisianan, putting him just shy of the 218 mark needed to hold the speaker’s gavel. Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massey was the only Republican representative.

Both Norman and Self told reporters after the vote that they had spoken with Trump throughout the day.

Norman said he spoke to Trump twice on Friday. The first was during a several-minute phone call when fellow Republican Nancy Mays handed him her phone while 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 that Mike was the only one with the likability factor,” Norman said.

He went on to describe Trump as “obsessed” with the Republican trifecta in Washington — control of the House, the Senate and the presidency.

“I said, ‘Mr. President, I agree with you, I just hope Mike has the guts to do it,'” Norman said.

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

“We discussed the whole process,” he said of the conversation with the president-elect.

In the end, an embarrassment was avoided — even if Trump publicly appeared more focused on other things.

In the midst of the vote, as members of the House of Representatives were named alphabetically, the president-elect lamented on social media the possibility that American flags would be flown at half-staff during his inauguration on January 20 – part of the traditional mourning following the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

Events on Friday afternoon showed just how tenuous the Republican majority in the House of Representatives will be for months to come.

In addition to the three initial Republican votes against Johnson, five hardline conservatives — who have opposed Johnson’s compromises with Democrats in the past — abstained during the initial roll call vote. Although they ultimately conceded, it was a very clear shot across the speaker’s bow.

After the final vote, the House Freedom Caucus — some of which were among those who temporarily recused themselves — released a statement explaining that they ultimately backed Johnson because of their support for Trump.

“We have done so despite our sincere reservations about the Speaker’s record over the past 15 months,” they wrote.

The party currently holds a 219 to 215 lead over Democrats — but that could shrink by two if Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Michael Waltz of Florida take the administration posts he has been offered by Trump. It will be months before a special election determines their replacements.

That means Trump will have to rally his entire Republican membership in the House of Representatives if he wants to pass key items on his legislative agenda early in his presidency, including tough immigration reform, new tariffs, and tax and spending cuts.

As Friday showed, that can be a difficult task.

Additional reporting by Rachel Luker