Mike Johnson wins Republican support for second term as House speaker

Pete Aguilarhouse Democratic Caucus Chair

House Democrats are ready to work with the new administration and will extend a hand of bipartisanship whenever possible,

said representative Pete Aguilar of California, the chair of the Democratic Caucus

Ralph Normanrepresentative

His challenge is what it’s always been,

representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a member of the Freedom Caucus, said of Johnson

Mike Simpsonrepresentative

Everybody was saying, oh my God,

said representative Mike Simpson of Idaho

With Trump in charge, it’ll be easier for him to deliver.”

But he said

I suspect I won't be running again unless you do something else, unless you say he's so good we've got to figure something out,

he joked to a gathering of House Republicans ahead of their closed-door leadership elections in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday

It's nice to win. It's always nice to win. A lot of good friends in this room. So, you know, we had, like, historic kind of numbers, especially for the president,

Trump said

We won, which is great because Republicans aren't supposed to be winning the majority."

Trump went on

Everybody has ideas on how to better improve our processes. And some of the frustrations that we had over the last year with the smallest margin in history, with control of only one-half of one-third of the federal government, will not be our concerns going forward because we have unified government,

Johnson said

We are not going to make those mistakes again,

said Johnson, who was a newly elected freshman lawmaker that year

Everybody’s going to want to be on the team to run the reform agenda that the American people desperately need and deserve. ... So I think you’ll have total unity in the party, I really do,

he continued

I am with him [Johnson] all the way,

Hours ahead of an internal party leadership vote, Trump visited with House Republicans and said ... Politico reported

We've been preparing for this moment for more than a year. So we have a playbook designed, and now we have to go execute these plays with precision,

Johnson said

This leadership will hit the ground running to deliver President Trump's agenda,

Johnson said Tuesday on the Capitol steps as lawmakers returned to Washington

We will be ready on day one,

Johnson said

We will move the ball for the American people, and we're excited to get going on that. We could be the most consequential Congress of the modern era,

he said

It's going to be very important as we move the America First agenda for the country, and he's ready to do that. I talked with him tonight, called him to congratulate him,

he said

I just want to thank everybody. You've been incredible,

he said

I am [confident]. I'm talking with everyone,

Johnson said Tuesday