WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump on Monday stood by House Speaker Mike Johnson amid swirling questions about the Louisiana Republican’s future role.
The endorsement came just days before the House votes on people holding influential positions in the Republican trifecta in Washington.
In a post on his social media site Truth Social, President Trump bragged about the Republican victory in November’s election and criticized Democratic campaign finance.
Trump’s post continued: “He will do the right thing and we will continue to win.” “Mike has my complete and total support. MAGA!!!”
Johnson thanked Trump for his agreement in a post on X on Monday, writing, “Together we will quickly implement America First policies and usher in a new golden age for America.”
Trump’s full support for Johnson has sparked speculation about the president-elect’s support for Johnson, who has raised questions about his position in the fierce battle to keep the government funded ahead of the holidays. I feel like I’m going to be shattered.
The speaker’s response to the House passing a short-term spending bill just hours before a deadline to avert a shutdown earlier this month has irritated some House Republicans, who are already among them. I fully support Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky). In January, he declared he would not support Mr Johnson for office.
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) on Monday stopped short of saying he didn’t support Johnson’s candidacy, but said he lacked “tact” in navigating Democratic opposition to the president-elect’s agenda last year. He criticized Republican leaders. half.
“As always with things like this, people will be negotiating for different positions until the very end, but things have to change and Chairman Johnson understands that,” Perry told Fox Business on Monday. I think I do,” he said. “And if he is to become a speaker, things will have to change.”
Perry told Fox Business last week that he plans to keep his “options open” when it comes to voting for speaker.
Similarly, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chairman of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Fox Business last week that he was once hounded by Mr. said he believes they should reconsider their options.
“If we’re going to pursue Trump’s agenda, we need to consider whether the current leadership is what we need,” Harris said.
Days before averting a government shutdown, Mr. Trump announced his opposition to Mr. Johnson’s initial spending deal to keep the government’s lights on, demanding that a debt ceiling increase be included in the funding bill. This seems to have surprised the leaders. But dozens of House Republicans opposed Johnson’s attempt to pass a funding bill that would include suspending the debt ceiling, leading Johnson to avoid passing a spending bill that ignored President Trump’s request. It became.
Mr Johnson took over the House leadership role in October 2023 after a group of Republicans voted to expel former Speaker Kevin McCarthy following a government funding dispute.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) called McCarthy’s resignation “the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in politics,” and said he feared a new fight for the speakership. I warned my co-workers about the beginning of this. ”
“That being said, it would be equally foolish to fire Mike Johnson,” Lawler continued. “The reality is these people are playing with fire. And if they think they can somehow get more conservative speakers, they’re kidding themselves.”
A new session of Congress is expected to convene on Friday, when the House of Representatives will elect leaders for the new session, giving Republicans control of both chambers and Mr. Trump taking the White House.
It took the House a historic 15 votes to elect McCarthy as Speaker, and the new Congress was last sworn in on January 3, 2023.
