Fox’s Bret Baier Reports Trump Whipped Votes for Mike Johnson: ‘Cautious Optimism’ Speaker Will Win on First Ballot

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Fox News anchor Bret Baier reported on Friday that President-elect Donald Trump personally whipped votes for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ahead of Friday’s pivotal vote in the House.

“I am told President-elect Trump this morning has made calls to a few so-called ‘undecided’ Republicans on the speaker vote. We are told ALL of those calls were “positive” for Johnson — notably NOT on the list was Rep. Thomas Massie who has made his no vote clear,” Baier explained before adding:

There is cautious optimism in Trump world that Johnson will be elected as Speaker on the first ballot. But- they acknowledge there is some doubt. The President-elect is engaged and watching – and may make more calls.

Fox’s Howard Kurtz also noted the math for Johnson was anything but guaranteed as nearly a dozen House GOP members were still holding out – and the speaker can only afford to lose one vote if all House members cast a ballot.

“Right now there are about 10 possible no votes against Mike Johnson, beyond Thomas ‘pull out my fingernails’ Massie. No one wants to be THE Republican who sunk the Speaker. So I think there’d have to be 2-3 members joining forces if they’re going to block him, at least for now,” Kurtz reported.

House Republicans are working to avoid a chaotic, multiple round vote like the one in January 2023 that eventually saw Kevin McCarthy become speaker on the 15th ballot.

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade discussed the infighting in the GOP in the last Congress and asked his co-hosts on Fox & Friends, “Do the Republicans realize how embarrassing it was when they went through those five rounds and how humiliating it was, I think, for the country and embarrassing it was global that we couldn’t pick a speaker for all those weeks after McCarthy was ousted?”