President-elect Donald Trump on Monday gave his full-throated support for House Speaker Mike Johnson keeping his job in the new Congress.
In a social media post touting the GOP’s electoral success and the struggles of Democrats, Mr. Trump said that Mr. Johnson is the man to lead House Republicans.
“LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN,” Mr. Trump said on Truth Social. “The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. 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!!!”
The cohesion of the slim GOP majority will be tested when they decide on who will lead the chamber in the new Congress, which convenes Friday.
Mr. Johnson can only lose more than two Republican votes when the House elects its next leader. The 52-year-old Louisiana Republican has already lost the support of Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
A drawn-out fight over the speaker of the House could threaten the start of the 119th session of Congress and has raised questions about the certification of the 2024 election results next week.
The speaker vote will help set the tone for the Trump agenda, including his ambitious vow to lead the largest deportation of immigrants in American history, extend the 2017 tax cuts and impose sweeping tariffs on imports.
Mr. Johnson thanked Mr. Trump for his endorsement on social media, and his office shared the Trump post in an email blast.
“I’m honored and humbled by your support, as always,” Mr. Johnson said. “Together, we 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,” he said. “Let’s get to work.”
Mr. Johnson seized the gavel in the House in the fall of 2023 after a messy fight that started when a rogue group of conservatives joined Democrats to remove Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the chamber’s top post.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, said that Mr. Johnson “inherited a disaster” after Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, who has since quit Congress, led the charge to oust Mr. McCarthy.
After Mr. McCarthy’s ouster, it took 22 days before House Republicans settled on a new speaker.
“Removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid,” Mr. Lawler said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “The fact is that these folks are playing with fire, and if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves.”
Mr. Johnson has navigated some choppy waters since taking over the gavel. It has fed regular questions about how long he can hang onto his post.
That speculation swirled again this month after Mr. Trump came out against a stopgap spending bill that Mr. Johnson had settled on before Christmas to avoid a government shutdown and demanded that the final legislation had a debt ceiling increase.
Congress passed a revamped legislation that extended current government funding levels through March 14 but did not heed Trump’s debt limit demands.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.