But during an extended delay in which the House clerk held open the vote — and during which Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer conceded that he expected a second ballot — GOP leadership scrambled to flip two of their holdouts. They ultimately succeeded by convincing Norman and Self to vote for Johnson.

A widespread GOP revolt isn't needed to block Johnson from remaining as speaker. Republicans' razor-thin majority in the House leaves him room for only a single deflection, and one Republican has already said he's a hard no on the Louisiana Republican. This means he needs the support of every other Republican member of Congress.