Rep. Ralph Norman drew the ire of conservatives after he initially voted against Speaker Mike Johnson in his bid to retain to gavel.

Mr. Norman’s opposition against Mr. Johnson earned him a primary threat from Wesley Donehue, a GOP strategist in the lawmaker’s home of South Carolina.

“I have a team of 90 political operatives I’m ready to put to work to take out Ralph Norman and I know every inch of the district like the back of my hand,” Mr. Donehue said on X. “He doesn’t support MAGA and he’s an embarrassment to South Carolina.”

That prompted Mick Mulvaney, who served in President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration and held Mr. Norman’s seat before him until 2017, to offer a lending hand to unseat the lawmaker.

“I might know a little about SC-5,” Mr. Mulvaney replied on X. “How can I help?”

Mr. Norman was unfazed when asked about the primary threat emerging against him. 

“I hadn’t heard that,” he said. “That’s fine though.”  

Mr. Johnson’s chances of winning the speaker’s gavel for his first full term as speaker appeared dim when a trio of Republicans — Mr. Norman, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Keith Self of Texas — initially voted against him in favor of other GOP lawmakers.

Mr. Norman and Mr. Self ultimately flipped their votes in support of Mr. Johnson after the vote was left open for an unusually long period of time, during which the speaker huddled with his defectors behind closed doors.

Their decision to support Mr. Johnson paved the way to him winning the speaker’s gavel Friday afternoon.

But Mr. Norman was one of 11 members of the House Freedom Caucus who signed a memo that was critical of Mr. Johnson’s performance as speaker since winning the gavel in late 2023, particularly over his dealings with Democrats to advance must-pass legislation and spending decisions that did not cut into the federal deficit.

Many of the Freedom Caucus members who signed the memo, including Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris of Maryland, withheld their support of Mr. Johnson until all members had voted during the first round of votes. Still, they voted in favor of Mr. Johnson to ensure the “timely certification” on Monday of Mr. Trump’s victory.

The memo called on Mr. Johnson to make good on a series of their demands, including cutting spending, sealing the border and reversing a spate of Biden administration policies, among others, and signaled that Mr. Johnson’s position as speaker was not safe unless those demands were met.

• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.

• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.