At the end of the suspense, Donald Trump wins this test event in Congress

INTERNATIONAL – Everything came down to just a few votes. Republican Mike Johnson was re-elected this Friday, January 3, president of the American House of Representatives. THE “ speaker » outgoing faced opposition from several elected officials from his own camp, who criticized him for too many budgetary concessions to the Democrats. Benefiting from the support of Donald Trump, he finally managed to be re-elected in the first round of voting.

However, nothing was gained at the start. Indeed, during the first roll-call vote, Mike Johnson found himself short of votes, with three defections in his own camp. It was more than he could afford. But the chamber witnessed a twist when two of the representatives changed their voice to finally support the “ speaker » outgoing. THE New York Times described the event as “spectacular turnaround”.

What happened? The ballot remained open well after all members had voted, and Donald Trump spoke directly with two of the holdout representatives, according to CNN et Politico. A gesture which, in addition to political discussions with the outgoing speaker, managed to tip the scales at the last minute.

This election represented a crucial issue for the president-elect, serving as a test of his influence within Congress. Donald Trump gave unreserved support to Mike Johnson. Wishing him “ good luck ” Friday in a message on his Truth Social network before the vote, the future president had described the elected representative from Louisiana as“good and very capable man, who is not far from having 100% support”. “A victory for Mike today will be a great victory for the Republican Party”insisted Donald Trump.

“Mike will be a great Speaker of the House and our country will be the beneficiary,” he declared following the vote this Friday. Less than three weeks before his return to the White House, Donald Trump had every interest in seeing Mike Johnson re-elected quickly: without « speaker »the House of Representatives would have found itself unable to certify its presidential victory during a session scheduled for Monday.