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After narrowly escaping ouster as speaker of the House on Friday, Rep. Mike Johnson faces a decision that could determine his relationship with the hard-line conservative faction of the GOP that nearly took his job away—namely, who to appoint as chairman of the House Rules Committee.

The House Committee on Rules is among the most important committees in any Congress, and it will be no different in the 119th session. As the last stop for a bill before it is considered on the floor, the committee largely determines what bills reach the floor, who can propose amendments to bills, and the time limits and procedures for debates.

Johnson, R-La., will soon have to appoint a chairman for the Rules Committee to replace the now-retired Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas. That will be one of his most important chess moves in the early days of the new Congress and new administration as he seeks to build goodwill between himself and his paper-thin Republican majority in the House.

Before Friday’s speaker election, in which Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, threatened to vote against Johnson as speaker, the Texas lawmaker was considered a strong contender for leading the committee.

Roy, a tea party troublemaker who recently infuriated Trump by opposing a Republican spending package, told Steve Bannon on the latter’s “War Room” podcast in December that he was in the running for the chairmanship of the committee. 

Roy joined the Rules Committee in January 2023 as part of the deal brokered between then-Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and the conservative faction of the House GOP in McCarthy’s bid for House speaker. Roy, along with Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., were appointed to increase conservative representation on the crucial committee that is even more crucial to the speaker. Roy’s conservative colleagues, Massie and Norman, both initially voted to deny Johnson the speakership on Friday.

Roy is the favorite candidate of the GOP’s rebellious faction of congressmen disillusioned by Johnson’s compromises with the Democratic Party and his support of increased spending.

 Ahead of Friday’s speaker vote, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told reporters, “Mike Johnson coming out and committing to Chip Roy being the chairman of the Rules Committee would secure the vote on the first round.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., similarly backed Roy for the position as a way to bury the hatchet with Johnson.

Johnson, however, ruled out early on giving Roy the chairmanship in order to secure reelection, telling reporters he was “not making deals with anybody” in his bid to remain speaker.

With Roy emerging as a figurehead of Republican opposition to Johnson, it’s likely that Johnson will look to other candidates for a position that holds such power over the GOP legislative agenda.

Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., has already signaled her interest in the position. A staunchly pro-life conservative, Fischbach is hardly the rebel that Roy is, but that’s not to say she’s completely reliable ally for Johnson’s agenda.

Fischbach has allied herself with Republican dissidents in the past, as one of the 71 Republicans to oppose the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. Fischbach has also made sure not to burn bridges with anti-Johnson Republicans, as seen in her vote against releasing a House Ethics Committee report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Fischbach is a middle-of-the-road choice for Johnson—a candidate who likely will not block Johnson’s agenda, but also a candidate who will not infuriate the tea party rebels, who have been a constant headache for him.

But Johnson might also opt for an even more dependable ally in Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas. Sessions has been a long time backer of Johnson and has publicly stated his desire for the chairmanship. 

Having been considered for speaker himself in 2023, Sessions rallied behind Johnson as an early supporter before Johnson’s first election, calling him a “consensus builder.” 

But perhaps no congressman has defended Johnson as ferociously as Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who famously yelled at a reporter to “shut up”  after asking Johnson about the 2020 election results.

Foxx made a different sort of news Friday when the 81-year-old representative fell down a marble staircase in the Capitol on the very first day of the 119th Congress, even as the public grows more concerned about the age, vitality, and mental acuity of its public officials.

Nevertheless, Foxx has stood beside Johnson on every occasion, telling reporters ahead of the speaker race that she “wholeheartedly” supported the Louisiana lawmaker and that he is “just the right person for the job.”

Ultimately, it’s Johnson’s decision regarding whom to appoint as chairman of the Rules Committee. If a chairman decides to impede the Republican agenda through the committee, the speaker could replace him or her with a more cooperative member of Congress. 

Johnson’s decision will be an early sign of how he will broker deals in Congress and satisfy the unruly factions within the GOP’s thin majority.