Ex-lawmaker: GOP in for 'miserable' first day as they wrangle over speakership

House Republicans are in for a "miserable" first day of the next term of Congress, as they struggle to muster up the votes to get House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) re-installed with the gavel, members both current and former are acknowledging, reported The Daily Beast on Tuesday.

The key problem they immediately face is that it's unclear, despite President-elect Donald Trump tossing an endorsement his way, that Johnson will have the votes in the razor-thin House majority. Hardline anti-government renegades, who ironically helped install Johnson in the first place, are increasingly frustrated they aren't getting their way on spending issues, and could revolt again.

A delay in electing a speaker would not just paralyze the House but possibly delay the certification of Trump's election altogether.

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Former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA), an anti-Trump conservative, put it bluntly in a recent interview on Bloomberg TV, the report noted.

“When you look at people like the Chip Roys, the Tom Massies, the Andy Harrises; they drink their own bathwater. They don’t really drink Trump’s bathwater. A lot of people call the Freedom Caucus a Trump protection caucus. But in reality, there are people there that are very idealistic, right? They’re ideologues, and they’re also going to do their own thing… I don’t think it guarantees Mike Johnson the speakership at all.”

All this, he continued, means it will be a "s--- show" when they return on Friday for the vote.

Some current Trump loyalist members acknowledge this problem, and vent their own frustrations, continued the report.

Speaking to NewsNation, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) complained that to commit to voting for Johnson, “I want a specific plan. When we talk about what we are going to make our cuts, how are we going to save this nation from bankruptcy? I just don’t think we have a plan.”