But on Tuesday, as the 118th Congress convened, McCarthy failed to secure enough votes from his fractured Republican caucus despite three rounds of ballots being cast.

Then, shortly after the House recessed until Wednesday morning, NBC News senior Capitol Hill correspondent Garrett Haake reported that Trump insinuated to him that his faith in McCarthy is waning.

"Trump declined to say if he's sticking by his endorsement of Kevin McCarthy for speaker tonight, telling me in a brief phone interview he's had calls all day asking for support," Haake tweeted.

"We'll see what happens. We'll see how it all works out," Trump deflected. Haake added that "when I asked directly if he was sticking by McCarthy, who did not clinch the gavel today after three floor votes, Mr. Trump told me 'we'll see what happens,' and ended our conversation."