Mike Johnson clinched the internal GOP nod to serve as speaker again. But he’s not in the clear yet — the true test is a formal vote on the House floor in January, where he’ll have almost no room for error.

House Republicans voted unanimously Wednesday to make Johnson their speaker nominee, according to three people in the room. The Louisiana Republican has been shoring up support for months, crisscrossing the country to campaign for his colleagues, and the party is expected to hold onto House control by a slim margin.

Members of the Main Street Caucus and House Freedom Caucus members brokered a deal ahead of the vote: Pulling the proposed punitive GOP conference amendments that would punish members for things like voting down a rule, in exchange for a nine-member motion to vacate threshold, according to two Republicans with knowledge of the matter. The deal brokered cleared the way for a voice vote.

“We had different factions, or whatever you want to call it, within the conference, and we sat down to try to see how we can get to agreement,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said. “We were able to call a truce … in exchange for a slightly modified motion to vacate.”

The speaker was widely expected to clear the simple majority threshold required in the private conference meeting, despite conservative complaints about how he handled spending and other issues during his first year with the gavel. It’s a problem that will become more relevant for the floor vote on Jan. 3, when the 218-vote threshold means he likely can’t afford to lose more than a handful of GOP members.

He did, however, get a significant boost with incoming President Donald Trump endorsing his continued speakership during a closed-door conference meeting hours before Wednesday’s leadership vote. Trump’s landslide win has given him an even tighter grip on the conference, and any GOP lawmakers who oppose Johnson could risk not only the ire of their colleagues but also of the leader of their party.

Still, Johnson’s critics haven’t given up yet. Conservatives have repeatedly felt burnt by deals Johnson cut on issues like government funding over the past year. And some of them have controversial demands about conference rules, including keeping the threshold for triggering a vote to boot the speaker at one person, that they say are essential for earning their votes. They are also publicly calling on Johnson to squash a push from his centrists, which was first reported by POLITICO, to punish members who vote against bringing GOP bills to the floor.

Plus, some are also waiting to see if the upcoming government spending deadline that is set just before Christmas will give them extra leverage.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

CLARIFICATION: This report has been updated with new reporting to clarify negotiations that occurred before the vote.

Rep. Lisa McClain will serve as House GOP conference chair next year, making her the highest-ranking Republican woman.

McClain defeated Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) 146-67-1, with one person voting for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), according to two people familiar with the vote.

The Michigan Republican, who was first elected in 2020 and campaigned with other GOP leaders this year, will replace Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who was tapped to serve in the incoming Trump administration.

The No. 4 spot in GOP leadership was the highest-ranking open slot this year, sparking a flurry of lobbying. Leaning into her efforts to turn the swing state of Michigan red, she ultimately defeated Cammack, who is also finishing her second term in the House.

Asked about president-elect Donald Trump’s promise to have Elon Musk draw up plans to radically overhaul the government and “send shockwaves” through Washington, key Republicans on the Hill had a slightly more muted message: Sure, we’ll take a look.

“I mean, they might make recommendations that we go ‘nah, not going to do that’,” Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who leads the panel that funds the Department of Interior and environmental agencies, said Wednesday. “But there’s nothing wrong with having an outside group of people looking at how you’re doing things and how you might be able to do them better.”

Trump announced a new “Department of Government Efficiency” Tuesday night, a non-governmental office with Musk and MAGA investor Vivek Ramaswamy at the helm. He promised “large scale structural reform,” and Musk has said it’s possible to cut “at least $2 trillion” from the federal budget by eradicating waste. (Whether in a year or over a decade, it’s not clear.) Ramaswamy’s vision includes crowdsourcing ideas from X users.

But importantly for any planned cuts, Congress still holds the purse strings. Any spending reductions need to run through appropriators on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers — even budget hawks friendly to the idea — are waiting to see the office’s actual recommendations.

“I’d be very interested in whatever they had to say,” House Appropriations Chair Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters. But he poured water on the prospect of the commission quickly taking out $2 trillion in discretionary spending — the levels his committee sets every year.

“Two trillion when you spend roughly six trillion a year — that’s hard to find,” he added. “That would actually push you into Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, so I don’t know how real these figures are.”

“I don’t think they’re walking in with any preconceived notion that this needs to be cut,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), who is running to lead the influential House and Commerce Committee. “We’ll have to see what they come up with.”

Musk has a fan in House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who said he was “excited” about the billionaire’s plans and even has some ideas of his own. “Of course, I’m going to try to meet with him. I got a plan I’d like to share with him,” he said.

Democrats were much more skeptical. “Tell me what you’re going to do. You’ve got a dollar amount, but where the hell are you going to find it and from whom?,” asked Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. “There are a whole lot of people who want to deal with the appropriations process and don’t know anything about the appropriations process.”

Reporters Jennifer Scholtes and David Lim contributed. 

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday officially announced he will nominate Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to be secretary of State, ending a nearly two-day delay between initial reports and the official announcement.

In a statement, Trump said that Rubio is a “Highly Respected Leader, and a very powerful Voice for Freedom.” Trump also called Rubio a “strong Advocate for our nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our allies.”

Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, is a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the top Republican on the selective Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He ran against Trump for president in 2016, but once Trump entered office he became a key ally of the White House on Latin America policy. Rubio was a contender to be Trump’s running mate, though he ultimately lost out to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The announcement comes as speculation swirled over the delay in announcing Rubio’s nomination to the role of America’s top diplomat. Some allies of former U.S. Ambassador to Germany and top Trump loyalist Richard Grenell insisted that no decision had been made, despite media reports that Trump planned to nominate Rubio. And Rubio faced criticism from some corners of the Republican Party for his more traditional and neoconservative views on foreign policy and national security.

However, Rubio is expected to face little resistance from his fellow Republicans in his confirmation process. Reports of Rubio’s nomination prompted expressions of praise from across the Republican Party, and even some Democrats. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.), Rubio’s Democratic counterpart on the selective Senate panel, celebrated the announcement, saying in a statement Wednesday that “while we don’t always agree, he is smart, talented, and will be a strong voice for American interests around the globe.”

Hill Democrats are pressuring President Joe Biden to shorten the sentences of thousands of federal prisoners incarcerated for drug crimes before he leaves office.

Seven members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) sent a letter to Biden dated Oct. 21 urging him to commute prison sentences that would have been shorter under the 2018 First Step Act.

That legislation, passed during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, reduced mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses. But the sentencing reductions did not apply to people already convicted for those crimes.

The group of Democrats, led by Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin, is urging Biden to categorically lower the sentences of these offenders so they match what they would have received under the new law. In some cases, these people would be freed.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who signed the letter, said Biden should move fast.

“This Administration has the opportunity to deliver justice to incarcerated people who were sentenced under overly harsh mandatory minimums that the bipartisan First Step Act corrected,” he said in a statement. “President Biden should heed our call and use the power of executive clemency while he has it.”

The letter also urged Biden to lessen the sentences of people convicted for crimes related to crack cocaine who would face less time in prison if those crimes involved powder cocaine. And it pushed the president to restart President Barack Obama’s clemency initiative, which granted clemency to nearly 1,700 people who met certain qualifications.

The letter came just weeks before Election Day. But it reflects concerns that have only intensified since Trump won the White House. Though Trump signed the landmark sentencing bill as president, he later indicated that he regretted positioning himself as a criminal justice reformer.

News of Marco Rubio’s selection as Donald Trump’s secretary of State Monday night prompted a flurry of reports about Trump’s forthcoming announcement of one of his most important cabinet positions.

Except Tuesday rolled around, and then Wednesday, and by midday Trump had yet to officially name Rubio as his selection.

By Wednesday afternoon — 42 hours after the New York Times reported Trump would tap Rubio, a report POLITICO and other major outlets quickly confirmed — Trump finally issued a statement sealing the news as official.

The Rubio news was the most notable in a series of leaks in recent days about Trump’s still-forming cabinet — a stark contrast to the nearly two-year presidential campaign his team ran that was relatively leak-free. According to a count by POLITICO, half the Cabinet and senior staff decisions so far were shared with the press first.

The initial Rubio non-announcement set off speculation — especially among those hoping to see Ric Grenell in the role — about whether his appointment was real or a leak meant to force Trump’s hand.

The leaks and lag time between reports about personnel decisions and their official confirmation has called into question whether his political operation, widely hailed as professional over the last two years, will continue as such into Trump’s second White House. Trump’s circle of influence is quickly growing as he has brought in additional transition advisers and is naming new administration appointees.

The confusion and apparent disorganization about staffing rollouts has even set off conspiracy theories within his MAGA base about whether the selections were actually Trump’s. And they have frustrated some of Trump’s longtime aides.

“The president is busy with people in his ear and he’s in meetings all day. And it’s difficult for his staff to get statements in front of him and approved at this point, unlike on the campaign where things were getting out the door immediately,” said a person familiar with the transition process granted anonymity to discuss internal dealings.

Some 18 hours passed between when the Wall Street Journal first reported Monday evening that Trump was appointing Rep. Mike Waltz as national security adviser, and when his transition officially announced it on Tuesday afternoon.

Nearly 19 hours went by in the case of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. CNN reported in the early hours of Tuesday morning that she was tapped to be secretary of Homeland Security, later confirmed by an official statement Tuesday night.

A trickle of leaks about the four deputy White House chief of staff positions came on Monday and Tuesday — with Vice President-elect JD Vance confirming one of those on X — before Trump’s team announced late Wednesday morning that Dan Scavino, Stephen Miller, James Blair and Taylor Budowich would each serve as co-deputy chiefs of staff.

Susie Wiles, Trump’s co-campaign manager, who he has since been named White House chief of staff, was widely credited with preventing both unauthorized leaks to the news media and the infighting that was previously common within Trump world.

Now, finger-pointing has begun behind the scenes about who has been behind the leaks, and why they sought to get ahead of Trump or the official press office. It did not go unnoticed by some on Trump’s team that the leaks were going to top reporters at some of the mainstream outlets Trump rails against the most, like CNN and the New York Times.

An adviser to Rubio did not respond to a request for comment.

Here’s a look at the timing of cabinet appointees, from when they were first reported in the media to when an official statement was released:

Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff: Announced by Trump Transition on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 5:39pm

Tom Homan, Border Czar: Announced on Truth Social Sunday, Nov. 10 11:23pm 

Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator: First reported by the New York Post at 3:10pm, then announced by Trump Transition on Monday, Nov. 11, 3:26pm 

Elise Stefanik, UN Ambassador: First reported by CNN on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 9:50pm, then announced by Trump Transition on Monday, Nov. 11 at 4:03pm

Mike Waltz, NSA: First reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Nov. 11 at 6:30pm, then announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 1:16pm
 

Mike Huckabee, Israel Amb.: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 1:39pm

Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy to Middle East: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5:04pm

Bill McGinley, WH counsel: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 5:33 pm

John Ratcliffe, CIA director: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 5:39 pm

Pete Hegseth, Defense secretary: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7:07 pm

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE: Announced by Trump Transition on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7:35 pm

Kristi Noem, DHS secretary: First reported by CNN around 1am on Tuesday, Nov. 12 and then announced by Trump Transition at 7:45 pm 

Stephen Miller, James Blair, Taylor Budowich, Dan Scavino deputy chiefs of staff: Miller first reported by CNN Monday, Nov. 11 at 10:30am; Washington Post reported Blair, Budowich, and Scavino on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 1:30pm; Announced by Trump Transition Wednesday, Nov. 12, 10:41am  

Still not confirmed:

Marco Rubio, Secretary of State: First reported by the New York Times Monday, Nov. 11 at 8:20 p.m.

UPDATE: This post was updated to reflect that Trump announced Rubio as his pick shortly before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom rallied Democratic members of the state’s California delegation as they steeled themselves for a Trump presidency in a closed-door lunch meeting over sandwiches in a Capitol office building Wednesday afternoon.

Newsom told reporters he and the lawmakers talked about getting on the same page ahead of California’s upcoming special legislative session as they worked to prepare their legal defenses for Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“We talked about the 122 lawsuits we were involved in in the Trump administration. We talked about the special session and how we’re going to move aggressively, to be proactive and not reactive to the incoming Trump administration,” he said. “We talked about the playbook that’s very familiar, that goes back even before Donald Trump, to the George W. Bush administration, as it relates…issues related to the environment — clean air.”

As for questions about a potential 2028 presidential bid for Newsom, other Democrats dodged.

“We didn’t really talk politics. It was just policy,” said former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).