Trump-Backed Johnson Faces Crucial Vote on House Speakership
(Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Mike Johnson will soon learn how much weight President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement carries with rebellious ultra-conservatives unhappy with the Louisiana Republican’s job performance and his dealmaking with Democrats.
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Johnson’s political future is on the line when the new Congress convenes Friday and the House conducts its first order of business: electing a speaker. Republicans, who’ve skillfully used speaker votes to extract promises and execute revenge, hold a four-seat majority, giving Johnson scant margin for error.
Trump bolstered Johnson’s chances with his “Complete & Total Endorsement” in late December. Trump offered Johnson encouragement Friday hours before the vote but stopped short of putting public pressure on dissenters to drop their opposition.
“Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump posted on Truth Social, adding Johnson “is very close to having 100% support.”
The speaker still must navigate factions within his own party, particularly those on his right flank who resisted an ultimately unsuccessful effort last month to suspend the debt ceiling.
Trump led that push, but it was Johnson who put it to a vote, prompting outcries from fiscal conservatives like Chip Roy of Texas and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who oppose suspending or raising the nation’s borrowing limit without deep spending cuts.
Massie, a libertarian, has been immovable in his opposition to Johnson, saying on X that he’s not up to the job. Roy is among the lawmakers who remain undecided.
Several of these holdouts met in Johnson’s office on the eve of the vote. Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina emerged from that meeting saying the speaker was saying the right things. Trump’s endorsement, he added, was a big deal.
“I think this is going to go well,” Johnson told reporters after the meeting. He later said on Fox Business that he hopes to win the speakership on the first round.
Still, there’s a risk of multiple ballots before a speaker is elected, a drawn-out affair that would be reminiscent of the 15 rounds it took to elect the previous speaker, Kevin McCarthy, to win the job.
After less than 10 months as speaker, McCarthy, a California Republican, was ousted, enabling Johnson’s surprise ascension. Yet Johnson, 52, has since faced his own difficulties in satisfying the various and competing interests in the GOP ranks.
Difficult Math
Republicans enter the new Congress with a narrow 219-215 seat edge, which means Johnson will need at least 218 votes to gain the required majority support if all members are present and voting for a candidate.
Yet the 218-vote threshold can be lowered by a number of factors, including member absences, and others who choose to simply vote “present,” potentially giving Johnson more than a one-vote swing.
Still, with Massie almost certainly a no, Johnson has very little wiggle room. Democrats are expected to unify behind their leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
Other undecided Republicans include House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andrew Harris of Maryland and Victoria Spartz of Indiana.
Some of these members say they want certain commitments from Johnson. Many have openly opposed his deals on spending measures with Democrats to keep government operating.
“Are we there yet on everything? No,” Norman said.
Johnson, who spent New Year’s Day at Trump Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, suggested he’s open to meeting at least some of the lawmakers’ demands.
“People are talking through process changes they want, and those kinds of things. And I’m open to that,” Johnson said.
--With assistance from Alicia Diaz.
(Updates with Trump social media post in third paragraph)
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