WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson won the House Republican nomination to stay in the job on Wednesday, on track to keep the gavel after a morning endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump ahead of a full House vote in the new year.

Although Johnson does not have a serious challenger, he faces divisions within his ranks, particularly from far-right conservatives and the Freedom Caucus who are holding onto their votes as leverage to extract future promises.

Trump told House Republicans, during the president-elect’s first trip back to Washington since the party swept the 2024 election, that he was with the speaker all the way, according to a person familiar with the remarks but not authorized to discuss the meeting private near the Capitol. .

Johnson praised Trump, calling him the “comeback king.”

It’s been a remarkable political journey for Johnson, the accidental speaker who emerged as the last and top choice to replace fired former speaker Kevin McCarthy more than a year ago and quickly set a course by aligning himself with Trump and by Republican leaders during this year’s election.

Johnson said Trump informed him early Wednesday that he would tap another House Republican for his administration — Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, as attorney general — reducing Johnson’s low numbers in the new year. Gaetz tendered his resignation from Congress, effective immediately, triggering an eight-week clock to fill his seat, Johnson said, possibly in time for the new Congress to begin on Jan. 3, 2025.

Gaetz is the third GOP House member selected for the Trump administration, and Johnson said Gaetz wanted to help prevent the narrow number. The quick departure also ends a long House ethics investigation into the Florida congressman.

As Johnson puts it, Trump is the “coach” and he is the “quarterback” as they prepare for a unified Republican government in the new year.