Written by Nathan Layne
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump said he would attend the state funeral next week for Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president who died on Sunday at the age of 100, and predicted that only House Speaker Mike Johnson can win the House leadership vote.
As Trump entered a New Year’s Eve party at his home in Mar-a-Lago, Florida on Tuesday, a reporter asked him if he planned to attend Carter’s (NYSE: ) funeral at the National Cathedral on January 9 in Washington, DC.
“Yes. I’ll be there. We’re invited,” Trump said, declining to say whether he had spoken to any of Carter’s family members since his death.
At a black-tie gala attended by billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk, Sen. Ted Cruz and other supporters, Trump was also asked what message he had for Republicans who didn’t follow his lead and support House Speaker Johnson’s re-election bid.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to elect a speaker on Friday after the new Congress is sworn in. Trump’s endorsement of Johnson on Monday is seen as crucial to Johnson’s hopes of retaining the office he assumed in October 2023.
But a move by 34 Republicans to vote against Johnson’s temporary funding bill in December raised questions about whether Johnson might have trouble mustering enough support to win re-election.
“I think he’s going to support Chairman Johnson,” Trump told reporters. “He’s the one who can win right now. Almost everyone likes him. The others are very good too, but they have 30 or 40 people who don’t like them.”
