Valley Republicans support House Speaker Mike Johnson in contentious vote

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The 119th Congress is now underway, with Central Valley Republican congressmen Vince Fong, David Valadao, and Tom McClintock playing a key role in delivering the gavel to Mike Johnson in his narrow re-election as Speaker of the House.

"I think he's handled a very difficult situation very well," McClintock said about Johnson during an interview with Action News.

"One of the most slender Congressional majorities in American history ... and he's able to move us now in an effective direction. I think he just proved that again today."

The history unfolded after Johnson appeared poised to lose a contentious vote.

Three Republicans first voted against their leader before two switched their vote after a phone call with President-Elect Trump.

"Committee chairmanships, committee assignments, rules changes, these are all things that members are trying to discuss and talk about in the back rooms to be able to lend their votes to Johnson," Blake Zante at the Maddy Institute said.

Zante used to work for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and he has seen Republican in-fighting before.

"Even though former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was elected, he ended up being removed from his position," he said.

"So, we certainly can't hold that out as a possibility for Speaker Mike Johnson."

With Johnson elected, ceremonial swearings-in got underway Friday.

Merced's Adam Gray is among the new members.

He beat North Valley Republican John Duarte and flipped the seat for Democrats by just 187 votes.

He picked up the keys to his office Friday morning.

"I'm eager to get to work on day one," Gray told Action News.

"I want to find ways that we can change the culture in Washington, D.C., from fighting to working."

Gray and fellow Democrats, like Fresno's Jim Costa, are in the minority. They now vow to work across the aisle as lawmakers take key votes, including some on President-Elect Trump's agenda.

"On the issue of the budget, on the issue of the debt ceiling, on the issue of the reauthorization of the Farm Bill -- I think there will be opportunities to work together," Costa told Action News.

The Senate also got underway Friday. California's Adam Schiff took the oath of office.

He and other Senators will vote on President-Elect Trump's cabinet nominees in the coming weeks.

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