In an attempt to salvage House Speaker Mike Johnson's career, Donald Trump took to Truth Social to endorse the Louisiana Republican in a rambling post days before the new Congress is set to hold its leadership vote.
After slamming Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign’s spending and bragging about his presidential victory, Trump said that Johnson should be reelected speaker to help him pass his agenda.
"Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!" Trump wrote.
But it's unclear whether Trump's last-minute foray into the speaker race will get Johnson over the finish line.
Republicans are angry at Johnson for negotiating with Democrats to keep the government funded, with 38 Republicans defying both Johnson and Trump—who helped negotiate the ultimate funding agreement—and voting against the bill.
Republicans also defied Trump by not including a debt ceiling increase in the funding deal that passed on Dec. 20, revealing that a sizable faction of the House GOP is willing to buck Trump.
So far, Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, said on X that he will vote against Johnson. Similarly, Rep. Victoria Spartz, Republican of Indiana, signaled on Monday that Johnson has a lot of work to do to win her vote. Spartz, who was elected as a Republican, said she will not participate in the Republican conference.
“Our next speaker must show courageous leadership to get our country back on track before this ‘Titanic’ strikes an iceberg at any moment,” Spartz wrote in a rambling statement.
Roughly a dozen other Republicans are on the fence.
Rep. Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, who feuded with Trump during the government funding mess, is gauging whether Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, should get in the race. Other Republicans have floated Trump’s co-president Elon Musk as a possible speaker candidate.
Ultimately, with Republicans' extremely narrow House majority, Johnson can't afford to lose votes from his caucus if he wants the gavel. Republicans will have just 219 seats when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, as former Rep. Matt Gaetz won’t be taking the seat he won in November.
Even if Trump’s endorsement gets some of the fence sitters back in Johnson’s camp, just two defections could derail Johnson’s bid. If Johnson cannot garner a majority on Friday, Congress will be thrown into a state of chaos—again.
Without a speaker in place, Congress cannot hold a joint session on Jan. 6 to certify Trump’s 2024 presidential victory.
As Politico reported, “Congress is legally required to convene on Jan. 6 to certify the election results. But without a speaker, the House won’t be able to establish rules governing how it operates. And members who would need to vote on any successful objection can’t be sworn in until after those rules are adopted.”
Republicans have proven that they are willing to go without a speaker. In January 2023, it took 15 rounds of voting for the GOP conference to coalesce around Kevin McCarthy. A few months later, in October, the House was without a speaker for 22 days after Gaetz ousted McCarthy without any replacement in mind. That chaotic mess is what led to Johnson’s speakership.
It already looks like the start of the 119th Congress is going to be a disaster of Republicans’ own making. Get your popcorn ready.
