Even though Matt Gaetz is no longer a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he remains actively involved in Congress.
The former Florida Republican lawmaker, now a host for the One American News Network, has already solidified his reputation as an analyst with a successful prediction.
Ahead of the House’s vote for a new Speaker on Friday, Gaetz said that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would be successful in winning a new term, and he was correct.
“Mike Johnson will be elected Speaker today. On the first vote. People might like or dislike that. I’m just reporting the news,” Gaetz noted on the X platform.
Sure enough, despite a few Republican holdouts ahead of the vote, Johnson was indeed elected on the first ballot, reports noted.
The vote for Speaker was anything but certain. Initially, Johnson fell just two votes short of the 218 needed to secure the gavel, with Republican holdouts Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Keith Self (R-TX), and Thomas Massie (R-KY) withholding their support. Democrats, on the other hand, remained united behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), casting all their votes for him.
The situation changed midway through the vote when Norman and Self shifted their positions, citing a desire to end the deadlock that had stalled the GOP-controlled House. Their reversal, combined with Massie’s decision to abstain, lowered the majority threshold and allowed Johnson to clinch the victory.
Later, a “community note” on the X platform attempted to fact-check Gaetz by claiming that Johnson was not elected on the first vote, but that was later amended to “needs more ratings.”
“I was right. @CommunityNotes was wrong. Just sayin’,” Gaetz added.
Following his election, Johnson spoke about President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda and how he and fellow Republicans plan on getting it done.
“We’re ready,” Johnson told Newsmax TV. “Look, I think we’re going to get this done. Everybody here in the House Republican Conference understands the necessity of the moment, the urgency of the hour. They know we don’t have time for games and palace intrigue. We’ve got a lot of very important work to do. We have to deliver on the America First agenda.
“We got a mandate in the election. President Trump got 77 million votes and House Republicans almost 75 million. That was a record for us. And that’s a message that we’ve got to stick together. And if we stay unified, no matter how small our margin — and it will be probably the smallest in U.S. history for a short period — we’ve got to get this done, and I think we will,” he said.
He went on to explain that he was not thrilled with the deals he had to make with Democrats to get legislation done in the House but blamed the thin majority Republicans have, which just got smaller, for having to make those concessions.
WATCH:
“Republican lawmakers know “we don’t have time for games,” House Speaker Mike Johnson tells “Finnerty” ahead of a crucial gavel battle in Friday’s razor-thin margin speaker vote. @SpeakerJohnson @RobFinnertyUSA “ @NEWSMAX pic.twitter.com/wkDpDp07B1
— MAGASOTA (@MAGASOTA_2024) January 3, 2025
“Everybody is frustrated, as am I, of what we had to do for the last two years. We only had control, very narrow control of one-half of one-third of the federal government. Remembering that liberal progressive Democrats were in charge of the White House and the Senate, so we didn’t get everything we wanted, or thought was necessary. But that’s what happens in divided government,” Johnson said.
“Now, however, we’re starting the new year with a new majority, unified government. We have the White House, the Senate, and the House. And so it’s on us. We’re in a lawmaking phase now. We’ve got to stick together and advance this agenda. So I think we will. Everybody understands the necessity of that and the promise of what really can be the new golden age in America,” he added.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
