Trump endorses Mike Johnson as House speaker: 'Good, hard working, religious man'
President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in an effort to rally Republicans around the congressional leader as the party is slated to grapple with a razor-thin margin in the forthcoming 119th U.S. Congress.
In a statement posted to Truth Social Monday, Trump delivered a message to congressional Republicans, urging them in all capital letters not to "blow this great opportunity which we have been given."
After noting how his party swept the swing states in the presidential election and won the popular vote, he contends Americans need "immediate relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration."
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Trump praised Johnson, a devout Baptist, as a "good, hard working, religious man" who will "do the right thing," expressing confidence that "we will continue to WIN" under his leadership.
"Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement," he added.
Trump's advocacy on behalf of Johnson comes as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives is slated to elect a speaker on Friday. Following the 2024 election, Republicans won 220 seats while Democrats won 215. However, the number of Republicans in Congress will start at 219 due to the resignation of Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.
With Democrats expected to back Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., for speaker, Johnson has little room for defections from members of his own party. One congressional Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, wrote on X Monday morning that "I won't be voting for Mike Johnson."
Trump's endorsement of Johnson did not appear to convince Massie to change his mind.
"I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson is going to work out about as well as his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan. We've seen Johnson partner with the democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and blow the budget," he declared in a subsequent post.
Responding to a reply to his initial X post, Massie outlined how he believes "the politics are such that no one else will run for Speaker" until "Mike Johnson concedes that he can't be Speaker" and "Trump weighs in."
Massie is not the only House Republican who may not back Johnson.
In an interview on "Fox & Friends" Monday, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., indicated that she might not support Johnson for Speaker. She said Johnson must commit to "President Trump's agenda" and expressed doubts about whether he would actually work to implement the policy priorities of Trump and Republicans based on his tenure.
"He committed on the House floor to have a fiscal commission so we have [a] plan for [the] debt ceiling increase," she recalled.
"He was afraid to put it on the floor," Spartz lamented. "He was afraid to put [the] budget on the floor except [the] Post Office bill. We could not accomplish anything."
"I can give him a chance, but I would like to hear from him how he's going to be delivering this agenda and what plan he has and he hasn't been doing it," she said, suggesting that other congressional Republicans share her concerns and may be willing to seek the office themselves.
The 118th U.S. Congress was defined in part by Republican infighting, which came to a head when former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted in October 2023. It took three weeks before Republicans rallied around Johnson as the consensus candidate to replace McCarthy.
As demonstrated by the lengthy process to select a replacement for McCarthy, it will take the support of a majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives to become speaker.
Mathematically, this amounts to 218 out of 435. The threshold of 218 votes will remain the same even as the vacancy caused by Gaetz's resignation decreases the number of members to 434.
However, the number of votes required to become speaker decreases if members of Congress opt to vote "present." Johnson's future will depend on whether those on the fence come through and support him and if they do not, whether they opt to back an alternative candidate or vote "present."
Although Republicans may have strong ambitions for the 119th Congress with control of both chambers of Congress and the executive branch, the House will be stalled and can't certify the results of the 2024 presidential election until it elects a speaker.
A failure to elect a speaker by Jan. 20 would prevent Trump from taking office as scheduled. In such a scenario, the Senate president pro tempore, the longest-serving member of the U.S. Senate, will become acting president until a speaker is elected. At the beginning of the 119th U.S. Congress, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, will hold that title.
For her part, Spartz remained confident in her interview with "Fox & Friends" that the selection of a speaker will not drag on past Inauguration Day.
"That's not going to happen," she said. "We will have a speaker."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
