President–elect Trump has fully endorsed Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) ahead of the Speaker vote set for Friday.
“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 in a Truth Social post.
Trump’s endorsement is a huge win for Johnson, and its timing appeared set to cut off public criticism of Johnson.
Some Republicans over the last 10 days had been putting out tweets that suggested their support for Johnson was in doubt, or giving interviews that suggested he’d need to do more to win their support.
Now any Republican thinking about sending out such a missive would be doing so knowing the leader of the party, and the most popular and powerful GOP figure in the country, wants Johnson where he is.
That’s not to say Johnson is in the clear.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he’s not backing Johnson, and he didn’t seem to change his tune after Trump’s message on Truth Social.
Massie said he respected Trump’s position, but also called Johnson a “potato.”
“For months Democrats ignored the fact that Joe Biden was a potato. They convinced themselves that keeping him around was the pragmatic way to win the day. Too late did they admit the emperor had no clothes. Republicans are doing the same thing by keeping Speaker Mike Johnson,” Massie wrote.
Johnson’s future as Speaker has been on shaky ground following GOP infighting earlier this month as Congress raced to pass a government funding bill and avoid a shutdown.
Trump ally Elon Musk criticized the spending bill Johnson was putting forward. Then Trump demanded a debt ceiling hike be included as part of the measure.
Johnson ended up pulling his legislation in favor of a stripped down version that included a debt ceiling hike, but that measure was voted down by House Democrats and dozens of Republican lawmakers.
None of that made Johnson look good, but Musk also threw his support behind the Speaker on Monday.
A few lawmakers aren’t sure Trump’s social media effort was enough.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) urged President-elect Trump on Monday to speak with House Republicans and urge them to keep Johnson as Speaker, warning any delay could “delay the certification of President Trump’s election” or lead to a repeat of last year’s Speaker fight over former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“I strongly encourage Donald Trump to get on the phone with those five or six members who won’t commit to voting for Mike Johnson because all this is going to do is delay us,” Comer said in a Sunday interview on Fox News.
The math for Johnson is difficult, as The Hill’s Emily Brooks pointed out in a piece on Monday afternoon.
If Massie votes against Johnson, the current Speaker can not afford a single other defection of everyone else in the House is present. It gets more complicated, but not necessarily easier, if some GOP lawmakers vote “present.”
Democrats are expected to be unified.
Will Republicans unify behind Trump?
Johnson’s odds were looking much better Tuesday afternoon, but even Trump can have trouble wrangling the cats of the House GOP conference.
