Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Republican lawmakers on Saturday that President-elect Trump supports a conservative policy overhaul via a single large bill, three sources told Fox News Digital.

Trump wants both the House and Senate to have such a bill on his desk by May, the sources said. The president-elect’s buy-in will likely end the growing intraparty friction on how to pass Republican goals next year via a process known as ‘reconciliation,’ which lawmakers plan to use to pass conservative policy and budget changes.

House Republicans met behind closed doors in Washington’s Fort McNair on Saturday to discuss the plan.

Reconciliation allows the Senate to bypass its traditional 60-vote threshold in favor of a simple majority, provided the legislation is focused on budgetary and other fiscal matters.

Both parties have traditionally used reconciliation to pass broad policy changes in a single bill. But the legislation also goes through a strict assessment where the Senate parliamentarian is tasked with deciding what is and is not relevant to U.S. fiscal matters. 

Notably, Democrats previously tried to use reconciliation to pass mass amnesty measures, but they were blocked.

Republicans might face similar issues with their push to add border security provisions to the bill. They’re also aiming to use it to extend Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, as well as to pass measures on energy and defense.

The apparent decision by Johnson on Saturday comes after Congressional Republicans were at odds over whether to pass one or two reconciliation bills.

It is a process normally used once per year, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., floated a plan last month to split Republicans’ priorities into two bills – one dealing with the border and defense and a second aimed at preserving Trump’s tax policy. 

The plan was also backed by top Trump adviser Stephen Miller.

But that push angered Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee, who warned that two reconciliation bills could be too big a lift, and putting taxes second could imperil remaining GOP tax provisions that are set to expire at the end of this year.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., pointed out on Fox Business Network’s’ ‘Mornings With Maria’ that Congress has not passed two reconciliation bills into law in one year since 1997.

‘I am saying we need a reconciliation bill that has border, energy, permitting and tax. You put all four of those things together, we can deliver on that,’ Smith said.

The panel put out a memo last month warning that everyday Americans could see their taxes rise by 22% if Trump’s tax policies expire.

But other lawmakers bristled at the idea that two bills were impossible.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital last month, ‘I think we need to prove to the American people that we can actually defend our borders. The bottom line is, I think they need to be on almost parallel tracks. But I do believe that taxes are much more complicated.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Thune and Smith’s offices for comment. Thune’s office responded and declined to comment, and Smith’s office did not immediately respond.

The House of Representatives has adopted new rules that would make it harder to trigger a vote to oust a speaker.

House lawmakers voted 215-209 along party lines to set the chamber’s rules for the 119th Congress. 

Among them was a measure to raise the threshold for calling a ‘motion to vacate the chair’ – which sets off a House-wide vote to depose the sitting speaker. 

Ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., agreed to lower the threshold to just one person in order to win over holdouts and clinch the speaker’s gavel in January 2023, at the start of the 118th Congress.

But the 119th Congress is now raising that number from one to nine – and amending the rule further, to specify that nine members of the sitting majority party must be the ones to call for a vote.

It sparked fury among Democrats, who accused Republicans of eroding the significance of the minority party.

‘Their proposed changes would, for the first time in American history, shield the Speaker from accountability to the entire chamber by making it so that only Republicans can move to oust the speaker,’ said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee. 

‘This makes it clear that they have no intention of working together to find common ground. Instead of electing a Speaker of the House, they have decided to elect a Speaker of the Republican Conference—held hostage by their most extreme members.’

McCarthy was notably ousted by eight House Republicans and all House Democrats after former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called for a motion to vacate the chair in October 2023.

The one-vote threshold hung over Johnson like the sword of Damocles for over a year after he won the speaker’s gavel later that same month.

The change is the product of negotiations between the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and the more pragmatic Republican Main Street Caucus.

Other changes in the new House Republican rules package include substituting some non-gendered family language like ‘child’ and ‘parent’ to more gendered language like son, daughter, mother, and father.

It also limits the House Speaker’s ability to bypass traditional chamber processes to rush a bill to the House floor via a mechanism known as ‘suspension of the rules.’

Johnson’s use of the suspension measure to pass critical legislation with Democratic support angered GOP hardliners in the House GOP Conference.

Under the new package, Johnson will only be able to put a House bill up for a vote under suspension on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., narrowly held onto the gavel in a nail-biter vote on Friday afternoon. 

Republicans eager to swear in President-elect Trump later this month and capitalize on their control of the House, Senate and White House avoided the same fate of the past two drawn-out speaker elections. 

After some wrangling by both Trump and Johnson, ultimately Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to defy leadership and vote against Johnson. 

Here’s a look at the top moments of the first vote of the 119th Congress:

1. Five Republicans refuse to vote; three vote against Johnson

Johnson appeared to be on a path to defeat when five Republicans sat silently as their clerk called their names for a vote. Three others — Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas — voted against Johnson. 

Massie voted for House Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.; Norman voted for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; and Self voted for Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. 

At the end of the vote, the names of those who refused to vote on first mention were called again. Reps. Andy Harris, R-Md.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.; Michael Cloud, R-Texas; and Chip Roy, R-Texas, ultimately voted for Johnson. 

2. Trump calls two GOP defectors 

Trump then got on the phone with both Norman and Self and urged them to switch their vote for Johnson, both congressmen confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

Two people who spoke with Fox News Digital said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., connected Trump with Self and Norman by phone after they voted against Johnson.

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.

Mace was also seen in intense talks with Norman off the House floor earlier.

Massie was irreconcilable — he’d long had his mind made up that Johnson was not the right person for the job. But Johnson could only afford to lose one vote and hold on to the gavel.

Johnson, too, huddled with Self and Norman. House leaders did not formally end the vote while figuring out a path forward.

3. Self and Norman change their vote 

About an hour after voting for others, the pair of defectors switched their votes, granting Johnson his wish. 

Self said he switched his vote in order to help further ‘the Trump agenda.’ 

‘The Trump agenda is most important. Trump agenda is most important, and we need to shore up processes in the House to make sure we have the strongest negotiating team for the reconciliation package that will come. So again, this was all about making the Trump agenda more successful,’ said Self. 

Norman said he spoke with Trump, but was ultimately persuaded to change his mind due to the promises he got from Johnson to make ‘real change.’ 

Trump ‘just made his point about how Mike is the only one who could get elected,’ Norman said. 

He said Johnson didn’t offer him a quid pro quo but ‘a commitment that things are going to change.’ 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report. 

U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett protested the nonvoting status of the Virgin Islands and other U.S. territories Friday— sparking mixed reactions after she accused the U.S. in House floor remarks of having a ‘colonies problem.’

The exchange occurred after Plaskett, a Democrat, stood after the first roll call vote to note what she said was a parliamentary inquiry.

Plaskett then asked the House clerk why she and other delegates from the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia were not asked to participate in the House speaker vote.

Combined, she noted that the delegates excluded represent some four million Americans and what she said was ‘the largest per capita of veterans in this country.’

Speaking over Republican cries of ‘order!’ that could be heard in the background, the House clerk then explained to Plaskett that delegates-elect and the resident commissioner-elect are not qualified to vote in the House speaker election.

‘Representatives-elect are the only individuals qualified to vote in the election of a speaker, as provided in Section 36 of the House Rules and Manual,’ the clerk said.

That response prompted an impassioned response from Plaskett. ‘This body, and this nation, has a territories and a colonies problem,’ she said, prompting some Democrats to give a standing ovation.

Republicans, for their part, began booing.

‘What was supposed to be temporary has now effectively become permanent,’ she said. ‘We must do something about this problem.’

Her mic appeared to have been cut off shortly thereafter.

Plaskett has served as a non-voting delegate to the U.S. Virgin Islands since 2015, during which time the chamber has voted to elect seven separate House speakers. 

President-elect Trump appears to have helped Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., avoid a messy, drawn-out fight to lead the House of Representatives.

Trump spoke by phone with both Reps. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and Keith Self, R-Texas, after they had initially voted for people 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 complete, 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.

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

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

Self did not elaborate much further on the contents of the discussion.

But the two people who spoke with Fox News Digital said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., connected Trump with Self and Norman by phone after they voted against Johnson.

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 in intense talks with Norman off the House floor 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 get elected,’ Norman said, adding that Trump did not change his vote but rather a ‘commitment that things are gonna change’ from Johnson.

Johnson won the House speakership in the first round of voting, after it initially appeared he was poised to lose.

Self, Norman and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., each voted for people other than Johnson, appearing to put the speaker’s gavel out of reach.

But House leaders did not formally close the vote while figuring out a path forward. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers were told to be on the House floor immediately in preparation for a second vote.

That second vote did not occur, however, and Johnson was sworn in as speaker on Friday afternoon.

Spending on contracting and supplies is the second-biggest major spending group for the federal government, according to usaspending.gov. More than $1.1 trillion was spent on deals negotiated by the government to hire contractors for work. The category has increased by 19% from five years ago. 

‘We expect massive cuts of all federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government,’ said DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy on Fox Business’ Sunday Morning Futures.

Contracting commercial companies for government goods and services dates back to the late 1700s. Over the years, laws have streamlined the process and helped make contracts more competitive. 

‘We’re on the side of change. We got started by helping the Navy and then the Army get ready for World War Two to move faster, to do things better,’ Booz Allen Hamilton CEO Horacio Rozanski said. ‘Now we’re the largest player in AI and cyber in the federal government, and we’re very proud of that whole history. But that’s a whole history of change. My sense is we’re ready for change. The country voted for it, and we need to see it happen.’

Booz Allen Hamilton is among the largest government contractors. In 2024, the company had more than $8 billion worth in agreements from agencies like the Defense Department, the General Services Administration and the National Science Foundation. 

‘One of the things we’ve been talking about for years is this notion of outcome-based contracting. Instead of trying to figure out what does everything cost and how to do it. Let’s define an outcome, something that the government really needs, and let private industry compete for that,’ Rozanski said. 

Federal agencies are responsible for negotiating the best deal for the government, but contractors have a history of overcharging. In 2014, a Defense Department Inspector General report showed that the agency was charged as much as 831% for spare parts. Another more recent audit found a 7,943% markup on a soap dispenser sold to the Air Force. 

Military contractors are only required to provide an explanation for prices if the contract is worth more than $2 million. If an item is labeled as ‘commercial,’ companies do not have to justify prices. 

In 2023, Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay $377.45 million to settle allegations that the company improperly billed commercial and international costs to its government contracts. 

‘I think part of the challenge is the system. This system is built to manage risk and to get things done with the lowest risk possible. It is not built for speed,’ Rozanski said. ‘We need DOGE to succeed in shifting towards efficiency, towards effectiveness. It’s what our clients want, it’s what we want. Will there be winners and losers in that? Of course. I expect I want Booz Allen to be a winner in that. But at the end of the day, we need to compete.’

The Department of Defense obligated around $550 billion to government contracts in 2024, more than half of all government spending on contractors. Some analysts estimate the department could save millions by streamlining negotiations. 

‘They’re for reducing some of the bureaucracy, but they’re also for understanding that there is a difference. To paint the entire federal government, the giant DMV is not fair,’ Rozanski said. ‘There are all these areas where more can be done to do it faster, to do it better or to not do it at all, to get things done.’

Some small businesses say that DOGE likely won’t have an impact on their work. 

‘From a sort of an efficiency standpoint, we all of us have to operate at the optimum level of efficiency,’ Arkisys co-founder Dave Barnhart said. ‘I’m not quite sure that’ll have an effect, because we’re essentially already operating as quickly as we possibly can within the U.S. government.’

Arkisys has a contract with the Space Development Agency, which is part of the Space Force. The Port would give service providers, making repairs in space, a permanent station to deliver cargo or supplies. The federal government has specific contracts set aside for small businesses that helps level the playing field. 

‘This particular arena of space and most especially the domain that we are talking about, which is servicing, that is doing something to a spacecraft in space after its launch, hasn’t been done before. It’s a wide-open research area. All kinds of innovation can happen,’ Barnhart said. 

Other small business owners say they believe DOGE could help make the contracting process move faster. 

‘One day you come up with the idea quickly. You got to get the funding and you got to develop it,’ Aspetto co-founder Abbas Haider said. ‘You put in your white paper, that’s phase one funding. Then it’s phase two funding, then it’s phase three funding. By the time you’re on phase two, it’s months. Someone else has probably already copied your idea or already done something similar. So, why would I go to the government for those funding?’ 

Instead of applying for specific contracts the government needs, Aspetto sells its high-tech body army products to various agencies within the U.S. government. 

‘In our case, we’re just going to go ahead and take the risk and fund it ourselves, because it would just move things a lot faster,’ Haider said. 

Aspetto makes bullet-resistant clothing, women’s body armor and K9-bullet-proof vests. The company has contracts with the Defense Department, the State Department and NASA. The FBI is also outfitting U.S. Border Patrol agents with Aspetto products. 

‘I do believe they’re going to focus on innovation. If you’re going to compete with countries like China, you have to focus on innovation,’ Haider said. 

NASA contributes most of its funding to contractors to develop innovative products for space travel. In 2024, the agency allocated more than 76% of its budget to contracts. 

‘With the right incentives, the private industry can also bring existing technologies that have already been proven in the private sector to the government to make that happen faster,’ Rozanski said. ‘I really believe that there’s a significant opportunity to save money, to do it faster.’

Separate ethics complaints filed by members of Congress and an advocacy group against Justices Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson will not be referred to the Justice Department, federal court officials announced.

The U.S. Judicial Conference said Thomas has agreed to follow updated guidelines on listing free private travel and gifts from friends, following previous reporting on undisclosed hospitality.

For her part, Jackson has amended her financial disclosures following complaints about her husband’s consulting income as a physician.

Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), along with Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), had asked for an investigation by the judiciary itself into undisclosed hospitality provided to Thomas by billionaire friend Harland Crow. ProPublica reported on several instances of private travel and lodging over the years.

Judge Robert Conrad, who heads the judicial conference policymaking body, said in letters to the lawmakers that Thomas had filed amended financial disclosures ‘that address several issues identified in your letter.’ 

Additionally, Conrad said that it was not clear whether the judiciary itself could make criminal referrals against a sitting Supreme Court member.

‘Because the Judicial Conference does not superintend the Supreme Court and because any effort to grant the Conference such authority would raise serious constitutional questions, one would expect Congress at a minimum to state any such directive clearly. But no such express directive appears in this provision,’ Conrad said.

Conrad noted that Whitehouse and Wyden had separately asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to name a special counsel to investigate then-former President Donald Trump. Garland has not acted yet on that request.

Whitehouse, in a statement, criticized the Judicial Conference’s decision.

‘By all appearances, the judicial branch is shirking its statutory duty to hold a Supreme Court justice accountable for ethics violations,’ said Whitehouse.

The complaint filed against Jackson came from Citizens for Renewing America, led by Russ Vought, who was nominated by President-elect Trump to lead the Office of Management and Budget.

Questions over ethics, including unreported private travel by some justices, have led the court to adopt its first code of ethics last year.

However, compliance is left to each of the nine justices, leading to concerns the court is not taking its own ethics enforcement standards seriously.

A two-year investigation by Senate Democrats released last week found additional luxury travel by Justice Thomas in 2021 was not noted on his annual financial disclosure form. 

Fix the Court, a group which advocates for greater judicial transparency, urged Congress to act. 

‘The Conference’s letters further underscore the need for Congress to create a new and transparent mechanism to investigate the justices for ethics violations since the Conference is unwilling to act upon the one method we had presumed existed to do that,’ said Executive Director Gabe Roth.