House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday faces an uphill battle to keep the gavel despite support from President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite narrowly clinging to a Republican majority, Mr. Johnson’s chairmanship is in jeopardy after a series of moves to fund the government have angered conservatives by failing to cut spending.
On the opening day of the 119th Congress, Americans will get a rare glimpse of the drama unfolding on the House floor as the House votes on a bill to elect a new speaker. C-SPAN has been given permission to operate cameras inside the chamber.
If all members vote, Mr. Johnson would only have one member leave the Republican Party and would be able to keep his job. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has already said he will not vote for Johnson.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday faces an uphill battle to keep the gavel despite support from President-elect Donald Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Other Republicans have declined to express support for Johnson, but none have joined Massey in publicly vowing not to vote for him.
“I’m going to talk to Mike and express my concerns. I can’t make a decision at this point,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told Fox News Digital.
President Trump gave Johnson his “full and complete support” this week, and the speaker’s vote will test his control over the new Congress.
Adding to the pressure is uncertainty about what the lengthy speaker election will mean for the next president. Congress has never certified a presidential election without a speaker.
President Trump gives Johnson ‘full and complete support’ ahead of speakership race
Congressman Chip Roy also said on the X Show that “it hasn’t been decided yet” whether to appoint Johnson as speaker.
“But something has to change,” he added. “We cannot forgive what happened just before Christmas, when over 1,500 pages of legislation was passed over our objections…all of which could have been avoided with serious planning and communication.”
But Johnson said he was confident he would get enough votes.
“We’re going to get this done,” Johnson said Thursday on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “We are moving into a whole new paradigm. Tomorrow we start a unified government. We have a White House, a Senate, a House of Representatives. That’s why we’re excited to bring our America First agenda to life. It starts on day one and everything starts tomorrow. ”
Mr. Johnson was in the speaker’s office Thursday with several prominent Republicans, including Reps. Victoria Spartz, Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andy Harris, Andy Ogles, Michael Cloud and Eli Crane. I met with you.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (left) shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump on the podium during the House Republican Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson rushed through legislation to avoid a government shutdown and push the funding deadline back to March. He was ultimately successful, but the House of Representatives repeated the continuing resolution three times and finally settled on one that could be passed with the help of Democrats, who replaced 34 angry Republican defectors.
Congress balked at the original 1,500-page spending bill, then rejected a narrower 116-page bill supported by President Trump. The situation worsened when the House received just 174 votes for the Trump-backed bill, with 38 Republicans voting against it.
Johnson allies urge Trump to intervene as fast-paced speech battle threatens to delay 2024 certification
The situation was made even more dire when the House did vote to avert a holiday shutdown, but passed the bill with a majority of Democrats (196) than Republicans (170). Thirty-four Republicans voted against it.
Rep. Thomas Massey has promised to vote against House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
About a dozen House Republicans have not indicated they will vote for Johnson, and Fox News predicted this week that between four and 10 could end up voting against him. I am doing it.
“The American people need immediate relief from all the destructive policies of the previous administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard-working, and religious man,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “He will do the right thing and we will continue to win. Mike has my full and complete support. MAGA!!!”
Mr. Johnson overcame a challenge to the speakership in May when Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia filed a motion to resign, forcing a vote to reconfirm Mr. Johnson as House leader. . At that time, 11 Republicans voted against him, and another 10 did not vote at all.
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But while Democrats helped him that time, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has ruled out that possibility this time.
FOX News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
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