Trump gives Mike Johnson 'complete and total endorsement' in pivotal House Speaker vote
WASHINGTON ? President-elect Donald Trump on Monday threw his “complete and total” support to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to continue leading the House ahead of a pivotal vote later this week.
“Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement.”
Hours later, multibillionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk, who used his influence over the GOP to kill a bipartisan spending bill earlier this month, joined in showing his support for Johnson.
House lawmakers on Friday are set to vote on the speakership amid dissatisfaction from key Republicans over Johnson's leadership.
Although the GOP conference earlier this year supported Johnson to continue as speaker in the next Congress, some Republicans this week haven't committed to backing him after a government shutdown fight divided the party earlier this month.
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Elon Musk backs Johnson
The government flirted with a Christmas holiday shutdown on Dec. 20 when Johnson tanked a bipartisan funding deal after Musk and Trump attacked the legislation. A replacement bill backed by Trump failed in the House after Democrats and 38 Republicans voted against it.
The funding agreement that ultimately passed, 38 minutes after the shutdown deadline, was backed by mostly Democrats and rejected by dozens of Republican lawmakers.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a hardline conservative, said he wouldn’t back Johnson, posting on X that “a weak legislative branch, beholden to the swamp, will not be able to achieve the mandate voters gave Trump and Congress in November.” House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris also said he's weighing whether to support Johnson.
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Shortly after Trump endorsed Johnson, Musk also offered his "full support" to the Louisiana Republican.
Johnson thanked Trump for his endorsement Monday, saying Republicans "will quickly deliver on your America First agenda and usher in the new golden age of America."
"The American people demand and deserve that we waste no time," Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Lessons from 2023 GOP chaos
A fight for a new Speaker could delay passing Trump’s agenda as Republicans hold a razor-thin majority in the House.
Although Republicans won a majority of seats over the Democrats, 220-215, that number will narrow in the new Congress after Trump appointed several lawmakers to his new administration.
Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., resigned from Congress in November Trump nominated him to serve as attorney general, but he soon withdrew amid allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use. Though reelected, Gaetz has indicated he won't return to Congress.
Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., is expected to resign from Congress on Jan. 20 to serve as Trump's national security advisor. And Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y, is also expected to leave Congress to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Many Republicans are keen to avoid the chaos of 2023. The House GOP needed an embarrassing 15 ballots and five days to name Kevin McCarthy as Speaker in January 2023, but it was a short-lived reign.
In September 2023, McCarthy was ousted after a funding battle, leading to a multi-week standstill in Congress as Republicans struggled to pick a new leader ? Mike Johnson.
'Art of the Deal practicality'
Without GOP consensus on Johnson, certification of Trump's 2024 win could be delayed. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y, he doesn’t think the House can certify the election without a speaker.
Gaetz in a post on X called Trump’s endorsement “‘art of the deal’ level practicality.
“We could never have held up McCarthy two years ago for concessions if a Trump certification hung in the balance. Now, it does,” Gaetz wrote, adding that resistance to Johnson is “now futile.”
“Let’s work to make him the best version of himself (which was more like the 2023 vintage of Mike),” he said.
Trump, in his post on Truth Social, said Republicans won the 2024 election by a landslide and that his party should “not blow this great opportunity which we have been given.”
“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration,” Trump said.
Contributing: Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gives House Speaker Mike Johnson 'complete and total endorsement'