Matt Gaetz Predicts Mike Johnson Will Win Speaker Vote on First Ballot: ‘I’m Just Reporting the News’

(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Former congressman and attorney general-designate Matt Gaetz predicted that Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) will win reelection to his position on the first ballot when the lower chamber of Congress convenes on Friday afternoon.

Johnson can afford to have only one Republican representative vote against him if he hopes to hold on to his gavel, and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has already made it more than clear that he intents to do just that. On Thursday, Massie told Gaetz that “You can pull all my fingernails out, you can shove bamboo up in them, you can start cutting off my fingers. I am not voting for Mike Johnson tomorrow, and you can take that to the bank.”

That means that Johnson must either hold on to the rest of his caucus, or at the very least, limit the number of holdouts and convince them to vote “present.”

But despite his conversation with Massie, Gaetz remains convinced that Johnson will not only prevail on Friday, but sail through on the first ballot.

“Mike Johnson will be elected Speaker today. On the first vote. People might like or dislike that. I’m just reporting the news,” he wrote.

President-elect Donald Trump, who has long counted Gaetz as a steadfast ally, would doubtlessly be pleased if Gaetz was proven right. Trump has endorsed Johnson’s bid to remain in his post, arguing that he “will do the right thing.” On Friday, Trump wished Johnson “good luck.”

“Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support. A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! – A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.