I do some Trump I do some Clay Higgins my colleague down from Louisiana I do let's hear the Trump let's hear the Trump that's the speaker of the house Mike Johnson

You don't want to hear that you don't hear that today. Okay because Mike is straight out of Mike Johnson is boyish and nerdy and exudes a southern sweetness that even

his most vociferous critics don't deny and according to his version of

Trump he's a good speaker to ask that would have been highly debatable not long ago

but Johnson is enjoying a period of renewed respect.

Most Republicans are more frustrated with far-right members who make Johnson's life difficult,

than they are with Johnson.

Important voices in the media have praised Johnson for

avoiding a shutdown and pushing through aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

Democrats rewarded him for this streak of responsible governing by saving him

from a motion to vacate on Wednesday evening.

Also true, Johnson seems to have picked the lock of Trump relationship management, getting the former president

to stand down on the foreign aid package and the motion to vacate.

So if that Trump impersonation makes it sound like the speaker is in a good mood, it's because he is.

A few hours after the MTV vote, which was defeated by 359 to 43, my colleague Rachel Bade and I met Johnson in the Speaker's suite, where he sat down

under a painting of his idol Ronald Reagan and answered our questions for over an hour.

We discussed his victory over the GOP radicals, Israel, Ukraine, January 6th, and his

relationships with key Washington leaders such as Joe Biden, Hakim Jeffries, Johnson's predecessor Kevin McCarthy, and of course, Donald Trump.

I'm Ryan Liza and this is Playbook Deep Dive. playbook deep dive.

Let's start with the motion to vacate. Big news, let's start with a lot of the news today.

So that resolution said that you aided and abetted Democrats in destroying our country and 11 Republicans agreed with that

and voted not to table it. Which are the 11 Republicans surprised you the most?

...