Speaker Mike Johnson is huddling with President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Day, as the two strategize for a high-stakes House vote on Friday to elect a speaker for the 119th Congress.
“I’m going to be with him at Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Day. We’re going to map out some strategy,” Johnson (R-La.) told News Radio 710 in Shreveport on Tuesday.
Trump, 78, endorsed Johnson for House speaker on Monday, quelling some of the resistance to the Louisiana Republican’s second bid for the gavel that had been building in the wake of a government funding fight last month.
That announcement had initially been scheduled to take place at the president-elect’s Palm Beach, Fla., resort on Jan. 1 — with Trump wanting “to take photos and do a big endorsement,” Johnson said.
“I called him yesterday and said, ‘Mr. President, let’s go ahead and do that,’” the House speaker added with a chuckle, “so he did.”
Trump jumped the gun on the endorsement as several House Republicans expressed reservations about Johnson being re-elected speaker.
“I remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues because we saw so many of the failures last year that we are concerned about that might limit or inhibit our ability to advance the president’s agenda,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) told Fox Business’ “Varney & Co.” on Tuesday.
“Right now, I don’t believe he has the votes on Friday,” added Roy.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) demanded that Johnson commit to significant spending audits and cuts if he wanted her vote, adding that the House GOP should “engage competent, unbiased ‘non-swamp’ professionals” to start tackling the ballooning national debt.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has declined to back Johnson no matter what.
Asked Tuesday night about the holdouts, Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, “I think they’ll support Speaker Johnson.”
“He’s the one that can win right now,” the incoming president said. “People like him, almost everybody likes him.”
“Others are very good, too, but they have 30 or 40 people that don’t like them, so that’s pretty tough,” he added, promising he would call GOP lawmakers to whip up support for Johnson “if it’s necessary.”
On Monday, Trump gave Johnson his “Complete & Total Endorsement” and urged Republicans not to “BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN.”
House Republicans will start off with 219 members on Friday, meaning Johnson can only afford to lose one vote to hit the needed 218 threshold and win the speaker’s gavel — unless some lawmakers decide to vote “present.”
Roy floated Reps. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as potential alternative speakers — but neither was able to win enough votes in past speakership ballots to clinch the gavel.
Disgruntled House GOPers are still reeling from the passage of a government spending bill on Dec. 20 that went through multiple drafts due to Trump’s demand that it include a suspension of the nation’s debt ceiling. That didn’t pan out.
Other Republican lawmakers also bemoaned the high price tag of the spending package, while celebrating small wins in having cut costlier provisions — including a 4% pay hike for lawmakers.
Johnson succeeded former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who was deposed in October 2023 by every Democrat and eight Republicans in a mutiny led by ex-Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
Through several rounds of voting, Jordan, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and others were put forward as successors — only to lose by higher margins than the number that defenestrated McCarthy.
Johnson was elected unanimously after roughly three weeks of the House Republican infighting.
“We need a Speaker right now who’s not only a proven fighter, which I am, and a trusted lifelong conservative, which I am, but somebody who can also work with every single member of this very diverse House GOP, because we’ve gotta get Trump’s priorities over the line,” Johnson said on Tuesday.
“There’s no other alternative for speaker of the House, guys. There’s not another name circulated, there’s no other candidate proposed because everyone knows that I’m the only one who can get the votes,” he added.
McCarthy’s ouster was made possible due to his own difficulties winning the gavel in January 2023.
California Republican had previously conceded to changing House rules to allow a single member to make a so-called “motion to vacate,” which would trigger a vote on removing the speaker.
Johnson has since manuevered to shift shifted the rules back to require nine members to trigger a motion to vacate. The House will vote on that change in the new rules package for the 119th Congress after voting to determine the next speaker on Friday.
