Bryan Lanza, a senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, delivered some bad news for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) during an appearance on CNN on Friday.
After being asked by CNN host John Berman to make a prediction about whether Johnson would be elected speaker, Lanza said that "I think that there's a strong probability that Mike Johnson doesn't survive the night."
Lanza went on to acknowledge that Trump has been working the phones on Johnson's behalf but he then acknowledged that Trump "hasn't had a tremendous amount of success" in bending reluctant House Republicans to his will.
"He got 100 percent behind Jim Jordan last time and that wasn't enough to move him across the finish line," he said. "I think Speaker Johnson, if he loses the first vote, it's indicative he'll lose the rest."
Berman appeared surprised by this answer.
"That's a little more glass-half-empty than what I was expecting," he said.
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Former Trump White House Associate Counsel May Mailman, meanwhile, told Berman that she was more optimistic than Lanza and predicted that he would get across the finish line, if only by just one vote.
Later in the segment, Berman challenged her and argued that this period should be the GOP's "honeymoon" rather than a time for the party to engage in yet another round of infighting.
She agreed and then challenged rebellious Republicans to put forward an actual plan of their own.
"Only Republicans can end Republicans' own honeymoon and that's why Speaker Johnson is the right choice," she said. "Who's after Johnson? Thomas Massie won't tell you who the next person is. Chip Roy won't tell you who the next person is. Matt Gaetz, now from the sidelines, won't tell you who the next person is."
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