Johnson showcases ties to Trump amid Greene threat

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is scheduled to appear Friday alongside former President Trump, who is on opposing sides in two controversial debates at the Capitol.

President Trump’s rally at the Mar-a-Lago resort was billed as a press conference to promote a bill that would ban non-citizens from voting, which is already illegal.

Politically, however, Johnson’s joint appearance gives him an opportunity to tout his close relationship with Trump, even as he seeks to weaken the speaker’s position on Republican reauthorization. It would provide an opportunity to flex their tight grip on the House Republican conference. Two issues are dividing House Republicans: U.S. warrantless surveillance powers and sending additional aid to Ukraine.

The meeting also comes amid concerns that one of President Trump’s closest allies in Congress, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), is pushing for a vote on Johnson’s dismissal. The threat could throw the House Republican conference into chaos. As President Trump pushes towards re-election, chaos continues.

Those dynamics are expected to converge on Friday in Palm Beach, Fla., with Johnson, the presumptive Republican nominee, facing tough legislation that would expand U.S. spying powers and authorize more aid to Ukraine. trying to show solidarity with — President Trump’s involvement has made the road even more rocky.

“It’s clear that Mr. Johnson is showing up at Mar-a-Lago trying to shield Mr. Trump from his own difficulties in the House,” one Trump ally told The Hill.

But some Republicans see the meeting as a typical meeting between two Republican leaders: House Speaker Johnson and President Trump.

“We have the gavel, he has the gavel, and you guys will have more of the gavel,” Nikki Haley said in the 2024 presidential election before endorsing Trump. said Rep. Ralph Norman (RS.C.), who supported the. “He is our candidate, Trump. We have to get him into office to save this country. Mike is a big part of that.”

But the rally came at a time of tension for both Republicans.

Earlier this week, President Trump, hours before the vote, urged lawmakers to “kill FISA” and urged Johnson to reauthorize warrantless surveillance powers under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). He helped fuel a Republican revolt against the bill.

Nineteen Republican senators heeded this request and forced a procedural vote on the floor. It was an embarrassing blow to Mr. Johnson and sent Republican leaders back to square one as Congress faces an April 19 deadline to extend spying powers.

Conservatives and some Democrats argue that the underlying bill contains a provision requiring a warrant requirement, even though approving a procedural vote would allow for a vote on the warrant amendment. He expressed concern that there was no such thing.

Mr. Johnson told Republican lawmakers in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday that he had spoken to Mr. Trump the day before, but clarified that the two did not discuss FISA.

President Trump has similarly and persistently sought to influence the debate over aid to Ukraine, long opposed to additional aid to Kiev even as Prime Minister Boris Johnson vows to move forward on the politically thorny issue. He announced.

President Trump’s resistance was only made clear in March, when Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said after a meeting with the former president: told national television President Trump said, “I will not take a single penny into the Ukraine-Russia war.” Members of the House Republican Conference, particularly those who share Mr. Trump’s “America First” creed, have expressed opposition to additional aid to Ukraine, and Johnson is seeking support for beleaguered troops in Kiev. It has become a political minefield for him.

However, both sides agree on the idea of ​​sending additional aid to Ukraine in the form of loans. The idea was first proposed by President Trump and later floated by Prime Minister Johnson as a potential detail of a foreign aid package. I’m working on it.

“Even President Trump has talked about the financing initiative that we’ve set up,” Johnson said on Fox. “We’re not just giving foreign aid, we’re building relationships so that we can get that aid back at the right time. ” he said. News late last month.

Apart from his relationship with President Trump, Johnson’s moves on FISA and aid to Ukraine could have far-reaching implications for his job security.

Greene, a leading Ukrainian opponent of the FISA bill, told reporters after her meeting with Johnson on Wednesday how the House speaker had spied on him while dangling efforts to oust him. He said he is closely monitoring the bill and whether support for Kiev will be advanced.

The Georgia Republican filed a motion to vacate Johnson late last month, the same mechanism used to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), but was unable to bring the resolution to a vote. He has not yet said when he intends to enforce it.

“He doesn’t have my support at this point, and I’ll be watching to see what happens with FISA and Ukraine,” Greene said.

Mr. Norman, of the House Freedom Caucus, said Mr. Johnson’s public appearance with Mr. Trump on Friday could give the House speaker a boost as she faces the threat of expulsion from Ms. Greene.

“It would certainly help if Mr. Trump came out and gave his full support,” he said Thursday.

Mr. Green ignored the impending event.

“President Trump meets with people all the time. I’m not involved in his meetings, and it’s natural for our front-runner for president to meet with the Republican chairman,” Greene said Thursday.

Friday’s rally will be the third time Johnson has traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with President Trump since the Louisiana congressman took over as speaker in late October. Mr. Johnson attended a fundraiser for another lawmaker at Mr. Trump’s Florida mansion last November, and Mr. Johnson met with Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago over President’s Day weekend.

It would also be the latest example of President Trump bending House Republicans to his preferred policies.

The former president actively participated in the Republican effort to replace Speaker McCarthy last October, initially supporting Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), but then moving on to House Majority Whip Tom – Opposed the candidacy of Rep. Emmer (Republican, Minnesota). He ultimately supported Johnson’s nomination.

Earlier this year, President Trump also endorsed a border security bill authored by Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.). , arguing that the bill would be a political blow to Republicans. He sought to make the surge of migrants at the southern border a major attack on the Biden administration.

Trump has repeatedly taken issue with House leaders trying to keep the difficult session afloat, but the former president remains publicly supportive of Speaker Johnson.

President Trump told reporters in February that he had “a lot of confidence” in Johnson and that he was a “very good person” after a difficult week that saw multiple House votes.

Johnson was a central figure in efforts by some lawmakers in 2020 to advance legal theories denying President Biden’s election victory. This effort was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court. But President Trump continues to press his false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent and stolen, and Johnson’s appearance on Friday is a litmus test for Trump to accept that view. It reflects what is.

John Bolton, who previously served as Trump’s national security adviser, said on CNN that Johnson was less concerned with appeasing Trump and Greene than with his own principles on issues such as FISA reform and Ukraine. He said that it is necessary to have a prioritizing attitude.

“I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but I think the real Speaker of the House is an independent political force,” Bolton said. “And I think House Republicans, for their own security in elections in general, need to at least demonstrate that they have integrity, which is separate from Donald Trump. It’s one thing and it’s another thing.”

“Everyone goes through testing,” he added. “Chairman Johnson is experiencing it now.”

Mike Lillis contributed.