


House Speaker Mike Johnson was already heavily favored to keep his job going into the 119th Congress in 2025, and President-Elect Donald Trump has just put the final nail in the coffin of any attempts to oppose him.
In a long, glowing statement, Trump called Johnson a "good, hard-working, religious man" while giving him a "complete and total endorsement."
Some large influencer accounts within the MAGA movement had soured on Johnson, describing him as a "RINO" over the last several months.
That was always a pipedream, though. Johnson enjoys overwhelming support to remain Speaker within the GOP caucus and Trump's endorsement only further cements that.
I've had my disagreements with Johnson, specifically his breaking his promise to return to regular order by only proposing stand-alone appropriations bills, but I also understand he has an impossible job. It does not matter who the Speaker is. With the incoming majority being so slim (and made temporarily slimmer by some of Trump's nominations), there is no real path to transformational change. Trump himself also seems to have no stomach for those fights which makes them a non-starter given he's the leader of the party.
So while some people may judge Johnson to not be the best man for the job, he's the person who has the support necessary to keep it. He's also the person willing to take the job, which is an underrated aspect of this entire ordeal. While it's easy for hardline detractors to say Johnson needs to be replaced, it's a lot harder to find someone viable who wants to replace him. Again, it is no secret he has an impossible job, and no matter what happens, he's going to end up maligned. That's not exactly a position many people want to voluntarily walk into.