Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday was still grasping for the votes he needs to be re-elected hours before a vote on the House floor, continuing discussions with hard-line conservatives who have so far refused to back him.
Mr. Johnson huddled at the Capitol on Thursday with right-wing Republicans who have vented dissatisfaction with his performance as speaker and suggested that they want a new leader. But he left the building without securing enough commitments to ensure he would keep his post.
Republicans in November had unanimously nominated Mr. Johnson for another term. But weeks later, right-wing lawmakers became incensed about a year-end spending deal he cut with Democrats to avert a government shutdown, which collapsed when Elon Musk and President-elect Donald J. Trump panned it. Mr. Trump endorsed Mr. Johnson on Monday, but has otherwise stayed out of the fray of the speaker’s re-election fight.
To retain his position, Mr. Johnson will need nearly unanimous support on the floor from the fractious House Republican conference. Given the party’s exceedingly slim margin of control — Republicans hold 219 seats and Democrats 215 — he can lose only a single G.O.P. vote if every lawmaker is present and voting and Democrats support their leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, as expected. One Republican, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, has already declared that he will oppose Mr. Johnson.
“You can pull all my fingernails out; you can shove bamboo up in them; you can start cutting off my fingers,” Mr. Massie said on One America News Network on Thursday night. “I am not voting for Mike Johnson.”
The speaker has two major factors working in his favor. One is Mr. Trump, who has urged House Republicans to quickly get to work so they can begin enacting his agenda. Second, no other lawmaker has challenged him for the job.
“I think we get it done on the first round,” Mr. Johnson said on Thursday afternoon on Fox Business. “Certainly hopeful for that, because, as we noted, we’ve got to stick together.”
Some Republicans have signaled they may not be inclined to do so. Representative Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, said in a social media post on Wednesday that he was “still undecided” on whether to back Mr. Johnson, but added that “something MUST change” in Republican leadership.
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