GOP rebels switch to Johnson after Trump’s 11th-hour call, pushing him across the finish line

President-elect Trump appears to have helped Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., avoid a messy, drawn-out battle to lead the House.

Trump spoke by phone with both Reps. Rep. Ralph Norman, RS.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, after initially voting for someone other than Johnson for speaker, two knowledgeable sources told Fox News Digital.

Self and Norman were seen disappearing into a side room with Johnson and others after the roll call vote was completed, but before the vote was formally closed.

They emerged minutes later and announced they would both vote for Johnson – cementing the Louisiana Republican’s victory.

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Speaker Mike Johnson won re-election to lead the House with the support of President-elect Donald Trump. (AP/Getty)

Self then confirmed to reporters that he had spoken with Trump by phone several times on Friday.

“I talked to him a couple of times today,” Self said. “We had a lively discussion.”

Self did not elaborate much more on the content of the discussion.

But the two people who spoke to Fox News Digital said that Rep. Nancy Mace, RS.C., connects Trump with Self and Norman by phone after they voted against Johnson.

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Two people said that Rep. Nancy Mace linked the holdouts to Trump. (Getty Images)

Mace would not comment, but Fox News Digital saw her and Johnson share a hug on the House floor after they and others were in the side room with the holdouts.

She was also seen having intense conversations with Norman from the floor of the house earlier.

Norman also later confirmed to reporters that he spoke with Trump on Friday.

“He just made his point about how Mike is the only one who could be elected,” Norman said, adding that Trump did not change his vote but rather a “commitment that things will change” from Johnson.

Johnson won the Speaker of the House in the first round of voting after it initially appeared he was set to lose.

Rep. Keith Self confirmed he spoke with Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Self, Norman and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted for everyone but Johnson, and that appeared to have put the speaker’s gavel out of reach.

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But House leaders did not formally close the vote while they worked out a way forward. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers were asked to be on the House floor immediately in preparation for another vote.

However, the second vote did not take place and Johnson was sworn in as speaker on Friday afternoon.