House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as speaker in the first round — but only after a very long delay as Johnson personally negotiated with two Republican holdouts.
Ralph Norman and Keith Self changed their votes at the last minute and backed Johnson.
However, there were still nine Republicans who sent a clear signal to Johnson that they could still force a motion to vacate in the future.
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Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.