House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) won unanimous approval from Republican lawmakers earlier this week to be speaker of the House next year, but some conservatives believe he won't be able to do so before January's general election. He warns that there is still an uphill climb.
“I think there are still a lot of people who didn't request a vote as a favor to President Trump, but we don't know yet,” Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. .
“I'm going to be ready to govern, but he has a lot of people who are not committed. But as a favor to President Trump, we didn't object.”
Johnson was chosen Wednesday as the party's nominee for chair by a unanimous voice vote, hours after President-elect Donald Trump told Republican lawmakers he had his full support for the Louisiana Republican.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson was once again unanimously chosen as the Republican speaker's nominee. (Getty Images)
The Speaker became the only candidate in the race after it became clear that Republicans would manage to hold onto the chamber for two more years.
Just a day earlier, Republican hardliners had threatened to delay the process and force a vote by secret ballot to prevent Mr. Johnson from winning the unanimous nomination for speaker, protesting the handling of government spending.
That never happened, but two conservatives who spoke to FOX News Digital also said there could still be holdouts in January.
With only a slim majority expected in the Commons, Johnson may have to work to avoid a nasty drawn-out battle for the gavel in January. This is no different from the battle his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, faced two years ago.
He needs to win a majority in the entire House of Commons to retake the top spot.
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Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy needed 15 public votes from the entire House to win the Speaker's seat. (Getty Images)
Asked if there was still skepticism about Johnson's leadership, one Republican lawmaker said: “I understand there may be.”
“I'm concerned that there could be an unofficial deal. I want things in writing…I couldn't get to a long-term deal with McCarthy because of the handshake deal. So no more. I don’t want to see it.”
A second Republican said, “I don't want to just see in December, 'We're going to put another $100 billion in disaster relief. We're going to put $20 billion in agricultural products.' … The Speaker said that.” . I'm not going to do an omnibus, but I want to see how this thing plays out and how we organize and how he wants to prepare to be successful in January. That's all. ”
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“We have made small steps in the last few days, but we need to go even further,” the second lawmaker said.
But not all conservatives agree, with a third lawmaker who spoke to FOX News Digital saying, “I think it's OK.”
“President Trump came here and endorsed him yesterday. Yesterday was a big yes…This is not what it was two years ago,” they said Thursday.
Meanwhile, others inclined to support Mr Johnson in January are also looking to him for commitments in the next parliament.
President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson to remain in office. (Getty Images)
“He promised to work with me on legislation to protect women. He made that promise in front of Congress. I'm going to protect that.”
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Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told Fox News Digital that Prime Minister Johnson promised the House would not give any more aid to Ukraine in the war against Russia.
However, both men cited Trump's support when announcing their support in January.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the speaker's office for comment.
