Johnson avoided the sort of drawn-out fight that plagued Kevin McCarthy’s speakership election in 2023. He won over all but one of the House Republicans signaling opposition to his leadership.

Johnson also has the support of Trump, who lobbied on his behalf after it looked as though his bid for speaker might fail in the first round.

Still, many hard-liners have made it clear that they voted for Johnson solely to give the incoming president a united conference to enact his agenda, and that they will be watching to see whether Johnson follows through on his promises.

Shortly after Johnson reached the necessary votes to win, 11 members of the House Freedom Caucus warned Johnson in a letter that he “must prove he will not fail” to enact Trump’s agenda and that there is “always room to negotiate on so-called ‘leadership’ positions under the rules.” 

On Saturday, Johnson is scheduled to meet with House Republicans at Fort McNair to discuss their ambitious legislative goals on the border, energy, and taxes through a process known as budget reconciliation. Reconciliation allows the GOP to pass legislation with a simple majority, bypassing the Senate filibuster.

Despite achieving a GOP trifecta with Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, House Republicans have already begun to fracture on topics such as the debt ceiling, with an intraparty fight fueled by Trump bringing the government to the brink of a shutdown.

Johnson may also face an uphill battle over government spending. Even with Republicans holding the majority in the 118th Congress, they were unable to bring several individual appropriations bills to the floor. 

This year, with a 219-215 majority, Johnson can only afford to lose one vote to pass any one of the 12 appropriations bills along party lines. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) will likely prove to be a consistent thorn in Johnson’s side, remaining the only member to vote against him for speaker.

Johnson has committed to spending cuts and greater member input. He also weakened his own ability to pass legislation outside of regular order on Friday as part of the final rules package for the new Congress.

But Johnson is going into a second term with discontent from conservatives over the spending deals he cut with the Democrats.

More vocal opposition could come from members like Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), one of six Republicans who withheld their initial vote for Johnson on Friday. Three others voted against him on the first ballot, making nine total Republicans who signaled their opposition.

Two eventually reversed course, allowing Johnson to become speaker.

“There are many members beyond the three who voted for someone else who have reservations,” Roy warned in a post on social media.

Some rank-and-file House Republicans brushed off concerns earlier on Friday that the defections on the speakership vote proved the GOP conference is not united. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) took issue with a reporter framing the day as “starting off on the wrong foot.”

“We’re deliberately discussing things and working through issues to make sure that we have a smooth-running Congress,” Van Orden said. “When did debate become bad? When did seeking counsel from your fellow members of Congress become bad?”

“We don’t truly appreciate it being painted like the sky is falling,” Van Orden added. “What we’re doing here is what our founding fathers sent us here to do, and that’s to govern. And governing can be messy at times.”

Many Main Street Caucus members said the nine-member defection was “symbolic,” as it is the same number needed to call a vote on whether to oust a speaker under the new rules package. McCarthy was removed from his post after only nine months on the job.

“That may be more of a message sent than anything,” Rep. Mike Flood (R-NE) said of the nine, adding that the defections were “less about the kind of strife we’ve seen in the past.”

The Nebraska congressman added that there are “great lines of communication” between centrist Republicans and the hardline Republicans following McCarthy’s historic ouster.

“That’s why we don’t want to sound the alarm,” Flood said. “This is not what it was before, after Speaker McCarthy was vacated. This — that situation has built lines of communications, because we don’t want to go through that again.” 

Now Johnson is under a microscope, especially from House Freedom Caucus members after Johnson apparently promised they would be part of the reconciliation process. Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) voted for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) in the first round but, along with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), switched his vote to Johnson.

“After receiving firm assurances from the Speaker, that Republicans in the House will have strong representation during the budget reconciliation process — a cornerstone of President Trump’s agenda — I changed my initial vote,” Self wrote on X. “I appreciate Speaker Johnson addressing these critical issues.”

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), another initial holdout, said he “still has concerns” about Johnson’s leadership abilities.

“My conservative colleagues and I will hold the Speaker accountable to rescue our great country,” Clyde wrote in a post.