President-elect Donald Trump doubled down on his support for House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday morning, hours before a high-stakes vote on whether to keep him in office.
President Trump told Truth Social: “I wish Speaker of the House Mike Johnson the best of luck today. He's a great, talented guy, and his approval rating is close to 100%.”
“Mike's win today is a huge victory for the Republican Party and reaffirms the most important presidential election in 129 years!! – A huge affirmation indeed. MAGA!”
“Thank you, President Trump! This is a new day for America,” Johnson (R-Louisiana) responded with an X. “Congressional Republicans must come together and quickly implement President Trump's America First policies. Let's get it done.”
The 52-year-old Louisiana Republican faces the slimmest majority margin in the history of the House of Representatives — the room for just one Republican to oppose him would prevent him from winning the speaker's gavel.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has already announced his opposition, as well as Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), It has not been announced whether Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) will vote in the first round Friday at noon.
“Just about everyone knows that Johnson is not the right person because of his 18-month history of betraying the Republican Party and aligning himself with the Democratic Party,” Massey said Friday morning on “X.” I was furious.
“If he fails in the first vote today, a better speaker could be elected within hours or over the weekend.”
However, no alternative candidate has emerged to lead the House of Representatives, and after about three weeks of infighting following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Johnson was unanimously elected to lead the House in October 2023. was elected as party leader.
Mr. McCarthy became the first House speaker in history to be removed by a vote of his own party. Several members of the Republican Party leadership and Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sought to succeed him, but were unable to muster enough support.
Prime Minister Johnson has expressed great confidence in his re-election for that very reason.
“I think we'll do well in the first round,” he told FOX Business. “I certainly expect that, because as we noted, we have to come together. We will be operating on the lowest margins in U.S. history for an even longer period of time.”
Republicans gained 220 House seats in November, compared to 215 for Democrats. But that majority shrunk further after former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) resigned and several House members were appointed to the Trump administration.
The chair must receive a majority of the votes cast. There are 434 seats, so the magic number is 218, but that difference could change if someone is absent or if a member votes “present.”
Mr. Trump fully supports Mr. Johnson, and the two met at Mar-a-Lago on New Year's Day to discuss “strategy” regarding the speaker's election.
The Louisiana Republican has maintained a good relationship with Trump throughout his administration, frequently appearing with the president-elect at rallies and other major headline-grabbing events.
