You never know who needs who more.
Former President Trump or House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana.
It’s too early to say whether Trump will return to the White House in January, but he will need the support of Congress to get anything done.
And which party will control the House is, at best, an uncertain question. If Republicans hold the House, Johnson certainly has a good chance of staying on as speaker. But it’s a matter of math. In early May, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined 11 Republicans in an effort to remove Johnson from his post. That would be a stretch for Johnson if the GOP only had a slim majority. But with Johnson struggling to muster the votes for speaker by Jan. 3 (the constitutional date for the opening of the 119th Congress), a command from Trump, who could become president in January 2025, could be his saving grace.
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Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson stand side-by-side. (Getty Images)
Fox has been told former President Trump needs party unity, which could be key to the legislative success if he returns to the White House to launch Bill 2.0.
He will need help from Congress.
Johnson returned to Mar-a-Lago this week for the first time in two months to meet with former President Trump, accompanied by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chairman of the Republican National Congressional Committee (NRCC), an organization dedicated to electing Republicans to the House of Representatives.
“We’re not going to waste a moment, and we’re going to get to work on a very aggressive plan to solve all of the big problems facing our country right now,” Johnson said ahead of a visit to South Florida.
The meeting came just days after former President Trump met with Republican lawmakers on either side of the Capitol, marking his first visit to the Capitol since the riot three and a half years ago.
“Unity is strength and division is an invitation to our enemies to defeat us, so I think he understands the benefits of unity,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said of Trump.
Notably, Cornyn could serve as either Senate Majority Leader or Minority Leader next year, a role held by current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has a strained relationship with former President Trump.
Measuring curtains? Not sure. But the former president and Republican lawmakers have made their 2025 legislative agenda clear.
“We’re going to secure our border!” Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack said on Fox.
“We’ve got to get our energy costs down,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., argued on Fox.
“The world is a powder keg,” said Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.
The former president has already made promises, some of which may not require congressional action.
“On day one of this administration, we will launch the largest deportation operation in American history,” Trump warned.
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Another priority is renewing expiring Trump-era tax cuts.
Such a plan would likely require the Senate to use a special budget procedure to avoid a filibuster, known as “reconciliation.” The Senate can only use this congressional tool for bills that don’t directly relate to policy and instead focus on taxes or fiscal issues. Senate Republicans used budget reconciliation to pass tax cuts in late 2017.
Budget reconciliation always requires that bills approved under this special rule not increase the budget deficit. It’s unclear why extending the tax cuts again wouldn’t increase the national debt. This may require some advanced bookkeeping.
Still, a Republican victory would likely give former President Trump slim majorities in the House and Senate, which is why the GOP needs to stick together.
“[Former President Trump] And, of course, I talk a lot about the election cycle and how we can accomplish our mission of getting him back to the White House, expanding our House majority and getting a Republican majority in the Senate,” Johnson said.
But critics argue there’s no agenda there — it’s simply about former President Trump.
Former President Donald Trump takes center stage at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat on May 4, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Donald Trump 2024 Election Campaign)
“The Constitution doesn’t matter to them. Nothing matters. The only thing that matters is the pursuit of power,” said Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat running for Senate.
Democrats are hoping to link former President Trump with weaker Republicans vying for reelection in battleground states and districts.
“They will have to defend this approach before the American people in the coming months leading up to November,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.
“As November rapidly approaches, Republicans continue to show the American people that they stand with MAGA extremists and not with the majority of Americans,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York.
President Biden and the Democrats have long publicly outlined their election strategy, which finds them facing three major opponents this fall: Republicans, former President Trump, and now the Supreme Court.
That’s why Democrats have intensified their attacks on conservative Supreme Court justices in light of controversies over the justices’ conduct and controversial decisions on guns and abortion.
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“Apparently [Supreme Court] justice [Samuel] Alito is an insurrectionist sympathizer and has aligned himself with his right-wing allies. [Supreme Court Justice] “Clarence Thomas,” Jeffries argued.
Democrats have accused Thomas and Alito of questionable ethics.
They accuse Thomas of taking lavish trips paid for by major Republican donors.
“He did it 60 times. He was a serial vacation offender, sir!” roared Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Ore.) on the Senate floor.
Leftists have criticized Alito for flying the controversial flag in his home.
“I, [Chief Justice John] “The Roberts Court will be a place of unchecked corruption and total politicization,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Thomas’ lawyers say ethics rules don’t require donors to report such trips if they have no business at the courthouse.
Alito says his wife raised the flag.
Republicans argue that Democratic complaints are a cover for real, residual discontent.
“Democrats don’t like the fact that the judge was making a certain decision,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri.
The liberal media and Democratic Party leaders have used the classic colonial-era “Appeal to Heaven” flag to link Supreme Court Justice Alito to the January 6th rioters. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
So progressives are trying to curb the power of the Supreme Court.
“I’m in favor of term limits for congressmen, senators and Supreme Court justices. Let’s get some new blood in there,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
Some Democrats are calling on Chief Justice Roberts to punish the justices.
“We can say that Justice Alito is no longer writing the majority opinion. We can say that Justice Alito is no longer the chief justice of the circuit court,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
Republicans are appalled by the ultimatum.
“They want the Supreme Court to be subservient to Congress,” Cornyn said.
Leading Republicans have said the attacks are purely political stunts.
“It’s an election year, and they’re trying to make a big fuss about something that’s not a big deal,” Johnson said.
But Democrats also don’t seem to agree on election strategy.
“The Democrats have won election after election since the president was ousted. Roe v. Wade We’re going to win in 2022,” Jeffries said.
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In other words, ahead of the election, former President Trump needs Republican lawmakers. The same Republican lawmakers need former President Trump. But the Democratic Party also has needs for former President Trump and the shift to the right of the Supreme Court.
