Mike Johnson was narrowly re-elected as speaker of the House on Friday, beating back a tiny right-wing rebellion that ultimately caved. A trio of conservative rebels initially voted to block Johnson from being re-elected speaker, defying President-elect Donald Trump, who backed the Louisiana Republican, and threatening to paralyze the House. They were among nine Republicans who publicly hesitated during the speaker’s vote — two initially voted for other candidates before flipping for Johnson, and six more withheld their votes during the first roll call. Those nine are notable as the GOP’s new rules package, if adopted, will require nine lawmakers to trigger a “motion to vacate” the speaker’s chair and remove Johnson — up from one member. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has railed for weeks against Johnson, cast his vote for Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. And Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., voted for Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, while Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, voted for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. But that's when Trump began getting involved, making multiple phone calls personally urging the holdouts to rally behind Johnson to enact his agenda. In the middle of his golf game, Trump got on the line with GOP Rep. Nancy Mace who passed the phone to Norman, her South Carolina colleague, the latter said. "He said, 'Norman, we've got the most opportunity we've ever had, three houses ... the trifecta. You don't get that opportunity,'" Norman recalled. "And I said, 'Mr. President, I agree with you but I'm just hoping Mike has got the oomph to pull it off.'" Later, Johnson huddled in the cloakroom just off the floor with Norman and Self, as well as key conservative members who voted for him — including House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and past Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa. Trump again was put on the phone with the holdouts, Norman said. The president's message to the group was "Get united!" according to Johnson. They emerged roughly 20 minutes later, and Self and Norman switched their votes, both backing the speaker. That gave Johnson the 218 votes he needed to secure victory, with all 215 Democrats backing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Read more on Friday’s vote → But for Johnson, holding the gavel was the easy part. The House GOP majority is poised to shrink even further in the coming weeks, with Trump announcing he’ll pluck two House Republicans, Michael Waltz of Florida and Elise Stefanik of New York, to serve in his administration. With Matt Gaetz’s resignation, their eventual departure will leave Republicans with a 217-215 majority, meaning they will have a zero-vote margin for defection in the crucial early months of Trump’s presidency. And they have a long to-do list: fund the government by March 14; pass Trump's agenda on immigration, energy and taxes; and extend the debt ceiling. Even when the party returns to full strength, the House majority could have trouble passing party-line legislation if a handful of members fall ill, have scheduling conflicts or experience weather delays preventing them from getting to Washington in time for key votes. Read more on the tasks awaiting Johnson → Welcome to the 119th Congress: Here are 11 rank-and-file lawmakers from both parties who could play an outsize role in the narrowly divided House over the next two years. | 