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Allies of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are calling President-elect Trump to publicly assert support for the GOP House leader to avoid a messy, protracted battle that could delay confirmation of his own victory.
“If we have some kind of protracted struggle where we can’t elect a president — the president isn’t elected; we’re not sworn in. And if we’re not sworn in, we can’t confirm the election,” the representative said. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.
“I would hope that President Trump would step in and talk to those who might be a little hesitant, and say, ‘We’ve got to get going. We don’t have time.'”
Meanwhile, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that “it would be very helpful” for Trump to get involved.
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Allies of President Mike Johnson are asking President-elect Trump for help to avoid a messy, drawn-out presidential race (Getty Images)
Anytime would be great, but right after Christmas when President Trump would say, ‘You know, listen’ — it would even be really cool if somehow Mike Johnson ended up at Mar-a-Lago for Christmas … wherever the president is,” Fallon said. “I think that would be incredibly powerful.”
House of Representatives members return to Washington, DC, for a House-wide vote on the Speaker on Friday, January 3rd. Just a few days later, on Monday, January 6, the House of Representatives will meet to confirm the results of the 2024 election.
Johnson faces a potentially uphill battle to win the speakership for a full term in Congress, with several House Republicans vocally critical of the Louisiana Republican and his handling of state funding.
His predecessor suffered 14 public defeats in his quest to win the gavel, finally securing it after days of negotiations with those who did not vote in the 15th vote in the House of Representatives.
When he was ousted, Johnson won after a three-week battle between the GOP that paralyzed Congress.
But some House Republicans are now warning they can afford a few delays in what Trump himself has said he hopes will be a very active first 100 days of his second term.
“To ensure that President Trump can take office and begin work on Jan. 20, we must be able to certify the 2024 election on Jan. 6. However, without a speaker, we cannot complete this process,” Rep. Claudia Tenney, RN.Y., he told Fox News Digital.
Tail. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, is one of Johnson’s defenders (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tenney warned that this could delay “the launch of his program.”
Congress narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown hours after a Dec. 20 federal funding deadline by passing legislation to extend that deadline to March 14, while also extending several other key programs and replenishing the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund.
That angered Republican hardliners who opposed adding unrelated political riders to what they believed would be a simpler expansion of state funding.
Johnson too tried and failed to heed Trump’s request to pair action on the debt limit — which has been suspended until January 2025 — with his government funding bill, after 38 House Republicans and all but two Democrats voted against it.
Fallon told Fox News Digital that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll defy Trump if he endorses Johnson again before Jan. 3.
“Some of the people in 38 — it was more a matter of principle — they really want to attack the debt,” Fallon said. “They felt like just letting the debt ceiling go for two years — they like to use that as a negotiating tool to say, ‘Let’s get the debt-to-GDP ratio down.’
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But one of Johnson’s biggest critics, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already told reporters he won’t vote for Johnson next year.
Two others, Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, suggested they were no longer committed to supporting Johnson over the weekend.
Meanwhile, there have been media reports that Trump is unhappy with the way Johnson has managed government funding and that his demand for a debt limit has not been heeded.
Trump himself has not publicly mentioned Johnson since Friday’s vote. But key Trump allies, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have come to Johnson’s defense.
It took 15 rounds of voting for former Speaker of Parliament Kevin McCarthy to win the gavel (Valerie Plesch)
“He’s arguably the most conservative Speaker of the House that we’ve had in our lifetime,” Cruz said on his “The Verdict” podcast. “If Mike Johnson is ousted as Speaker of the House, we will end up with a Speaker of the House who is much, much more liberal than Mike Johnson.”
Others have also signaled that Trump’s influence will greatly influence what ultimately happens.
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One Republican House who were granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital early last week that they were considering opposing Johnson, but said Trump would be the final deciding factor.
“I think ultimately it’s going to come down to who likes President Trump, because I think that’s going to go a long way in deciding that, because right now President Trump works very well with Mike Johnson. They have a great relationship,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R- Tenn., for CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Asked if he would support Johnson if Trump did so, despite opposition to his government funding plans, Burchett said “Possibly.”
Johnson will head into the Jan. 3 speaker’s vote with just a slim three-vote GOP margin — and is almost unlikely to win Democratic support.
