President-elect Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson in his campaign to hold on to the gavel, writing on his social media platform that the Louisiana Republican has his “complete and total endorsement.”
“President Mike Johnson is a religious, good and hard-working man. You will do the right thing and we will continue WINNING,” Trump said on Truth Social on Monday.
Trump, who will begin his second term on January 20, with plans for a broad reform agenda focused on immigration and other priorities, urged his party to stay united heading into 2025. “LET’S NOT WASTE THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN.” “, wrote.
Johnson responded by promising to “quickly deliver” on the incoming president’s agenda. The election of the president is on Friday when the new Congress begins. Days later, Trump’s victory in the 2024 election will be certified by the new Congress on January 6.
Trump’s statement follows recent warnings that Johnson could face defections from within his party in Friday’s vote to elect president. He can only afford to lose a handful of Republican votes, given Republicans’ slim majority in the House. Republicans won a narrow majority in the House in November with 220 seats. Since then, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from his seat to seek a Cabinet nomination, which he later withdrew from, bringing the number of House Republicans to 219.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced last week that he would not support Johnson’s reelection. “I’m not convinced by the ‘hurry up and elect him so we can certify the election in J6’ argument,” Massie said in a post for voters gave to Trump and Congress in November.”
Johnson’s support among some Republican members appeared to falter amid his efforts to push through a bipartisan year-end spending deal that was trashed by billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally. Republicans voted against the plan and then rejected a slimmed-down deal that included a demand from Trump to raise the debt ceiling, although the true deadline for raising the nation’s borrowing limit likely won’t come until the middle of next year.
Johnson ultimately approved a deal that did not include Trump’s provision for a debt ceiling increase and angered some conservatives with his lack of spending cuts.
The president-elect’s latest statement follows a show of support on Sunday from Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who argued that Johnson inherited these circumstances from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by a group of eight Republicans.
Lawler, R.N.Y., said in an interview with ABC News that Johnson “inherited a disaster” and that McCarthy’s ouster “will go down as the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in politics.”
“That said, impeaching Mike Johnson would be equally stupid,” Lawler said on “This Week.” “The fact is these people are playing with fire and if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves.”
NBC News previously reported that Trump had expressed support for Johnson in November during a meeting with House Republicans, according to Republican sources. But Trump appeared to waver in his support for Johnson shortly after the president-elect denounced the bipartisan government funding deal the president released earlier this month.
“We’ll see,” Trump responded on Dec. 19 when asked if he still had confidence in Johnson.
Trump’s statement Monday may quell rumors inside the House that Republicans should look for an alternative to Johnson.
Shortly after Trump shared his endorsement, Musk responded to Johnson on X to offer his “full support.”
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who earlier sent a letter to Johnson asking for some compromises before she could vote for him as president, indicated she was not swayed solely by Trump’s endorsement.
“I understand why President Trump endorses President Johnson like he did President Ryan, which is definitely important,” Spartz wrote on X, referencing former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., whose re-election as president Trump supported during his first presidency. term. “However, we still need to have assurances that @SpeakerJohnson will not sell us into the swamp.”
