After President-elect Donald Trump won all seven battleground states and the popular vote on Nov. 5, Republicans are taking a big step back in his MAGA mission.
Although Trump became the face of the Republican Party, some defectors needed the president-elect's guidance to effectively carry out this MAGA mandate.
Republicans control both the executive and legislative branches, but narrow majorities in both houses of Congress have left them with little room to implement President Trump's policy agenda. But pressure was applied where pressure was needed, and it worked.
It has become increasingly clear that Trump is the only Republican with Midas-like political viability.
One of the earliest examples of President Trump's effective pressure campaign came when Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa announced that he had been nominated for Pentagon secretary by Fox News host and retired Army veteran Pete Hegseth. This was when formal support was withheld. Mr. Ernst, whose work focuses on advocacy for victims of sexual abuse in the military, privately expressed concern about Mr. Hegseth, who faces several allegations, including sexual misconduct. Importantly, Hegseth and many of his former colleagues categorically deny these allegations.
After the two met for the first time on Capitol Hill, sources close to the Senate confirmed to Blaze News that Ernst had begun lobbying against Hegseth's nomination. A person familiar with the matter told Blaze News that Ernst is listening to older establishment Republicans in the Senate and serving as a “useful surrogate” for former leader Mitch McConnell. .
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (C) walks through the Russell Senate Office Building at the Capitol on December 3, 2024 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
After reports revealed Mr. Ernst's disapproval of Mr. Hegseth, the Trump world launched an online pressure campaign to sway the senator. President Trump also threatened Republican primary politicians who withheld their support from Cabinet nominees. Ernst quickly succumbed to the pressure, warming up to Hegseth and putting himself in more position. Maga message.
At the same time, this was not an isolated incident. In a December funding battle on the House side, Trump put his thumb on the scale to create a more favorable outcome.
Speaker Mike Johnson initially introduced a massive 1,547-page continuing resolution just days before the government shutdown, drawing the ire of fiscal conservatives in the Republican conference. MAGA allies like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy also joined in criticizing the funding bill. However, President Trump's condemnation of CR was the decisive blow.
Mr. Johnson quickly went back to the drawing board and made many changes as requested by Mr. Trump. The revised CR was put to a vote, but was defeated due to a provision to raise the debt ceiling, one of President Trump's demands. Nevertheless, the House ultimately passed a slimmer 116-page CR that omitted the debt ceiling provision, averting a government shutdown.
Despite some setbacks, Mr. Johnson secured Mr. Trump's blessing.
Immediately after the year-end spending battle, Mr Johnson faced a difficult moment in his bid to be re-elected as chairman. Ahead of the Jan. 3 election, Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky vowed to vote against Mr. Johnson, a “no vote” that could only afford one vote given the historically close Republican lead. . Despite President Trump's endorsement of the speaker, several other fiscal conservatives also expressed hesitation about Johnson's re-election.
Former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump listens to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) speak during a press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 12, 2024. president. (Photo by Joe Radle/Getty Images)
During the election, seven Republicans initially refrained from voting for Johnson altogether. Among them is Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a staunch fiscal conservative who along with Mr. Massie supported Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Republican presidential primary. Roy had previously defected from Trump, but ultimately changed He voted for Johnson because he was a “staunch supporter of President Trump.”
This leaves Mr. Johnson with a total of three exiles. Massey voted for Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and there was no change in the final vote tally. Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina officially voted for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Rep. Keith Self of Texas officially voted for Rep. Byron Donald of Florida.
At this point, Johnson was two votes short of securing a second term. Johnson, Norman, Self and other Republicans huddled in a room away from the House chamber rather than proceed to a second vote, which historically has cost candidates votes.
To ensure further political victory, President Trump reportedly Called Norman and Self to sway the vote. After just a few minutes, the two defectors approached the clerk and voted for Johnson, securing him the chairmanship with just one vote.
It has become increasingly clear that Trump is the only Republican with Midas-like political viability.
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