Republican calls House speaker vote 'theater of the absurd'

A GOP lawmaker called Friday's House Speaker vote — in which two Republicans were finally convinced to change their ballots but a third still held out — "the theater of the absurd."

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) posted his congratulations to Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) on X for keeping the speakership before Lawler appeared with CNN's Jake Tapper.

"What was going on behind the scenes?" Tapper asked. "You had six people refusing to vote, then they voted for Johnson. Three people voting against him, then two of them flipping their votes. Did you talk to any of them?"

Tapper was referring to Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX), as well as the lone hold-out, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who made his anti-Johnson position known in interviews before the vote.

Lawler answered, "Throughout the last few days? Certainly. But look, Jake, it's the theater of the absurd. But I'm glad, obviously, that we were able to get this done in one round on one day and get Mike Johnson elected speaker so that we can actually get to work."

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Lawler continued, "There is so much to do on behalf of the American people, especially once President Trump is sworn in and we've got to hit the ground running. And, obviously, the certification of the presidential election is on Monday — we wouldn't have been able to do that without a speaker. So, to get this wrapped up today, I think, was an important step. And we move forward and get about the business of the American people."

House Republicans begin the new session of Congress with a very narrow margin — 219 to 215 to begin, with the assumption they'll lose two more representatives shortly to Trump cabinet appointments. Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) has been tapped to fill a national security adviser position, and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is Trump's pick for ambassador to the United Nations.

Watch the clip below or at this link.