Mike Johnson’s presidency will be put to another test in the first vote of the new Congress
President of the house Mike Johnson is fighting an uphill battle to retain the hammer on Friday, even despite the support of President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite closely clinging to the majority of the Republican Party, Johnson’s chairmanship hangs in the balance after a series of government funding moves that have angered conservatives over the failure of efforts to cut spending.
On opening day 119th CongressThe House of Representatives will vote to elect a new speaker, and Americans will get a rare glimpse of the drama unfolding on the House floor. C-SPAN received permission to run cameras inside the chamber.
If all members vote, Johnson can afford only one Republican defect and still keep his job. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already said he will not vote for Johnson.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is fighting an uphill battle to keep the gavel on Friday, even despite the support of President-elect Donald Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
While other Republicans declined to confirm their support for Johnson, none joined Massie in publicly pledging not to vote for him.
“I’m going to talk to Mike and take my concerns to him. I’m still undecided right now,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.
Trump this week he gave Johnson his “full and complete support,” and the vote for speaker will test his influence on the new Congress.
The pressure is compounded by uncertainty about what a long-running speaker race would mean for the next president. Congress has never certified a presidential election without a speaker at the helm.
TRUMP GIVES JOHNSON ‘FULL AND COMPLETE SUPPORT’ AHEAD OF PRESIDENTIAL FIGHT
Tail. Chip Roy said on Xu that he is also “still undecided” about Johnson for speaker.
“But something HAS to change,” he added. “We cannot allow what happened just before Christmas, where a 1,500+ page bill was tried to be crammed through our objections… all of which could have been avoided with serious planning and communication.”
Johnson, however, said he was confident he would get enough votes.
“We’re going to get this done,” Johnson told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Thursday. “We’re moving to a whole new paradigm. We have a unified government that starts tomorrow. We have the White House, the Senate and the House. A completely different situation than what we’ve dealt with in the last 14 months since I’ve been speaker. So we’re excited to introduce the first daily order in America, and it all starts tomorrow.”
Johnson met with several potential GOP candidates in the president’s office Thursday, including Rep. Victoria Spartz, Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andy Harris, Andy Ogles, Michael Cloud and Eli Crane.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump on stage during a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Last month, Johnson scrambled to pass legislation to avoid a government shutdown and once again beat a March funding deadline. Although ultimately successful, the House went through three iterations of the continuing resolution and finally settled on one that could pass with the help of Democrats, who made up for 34 angry Republican defections.
Congress opposed it the original bill of costs of 1500 pages then he shot down a narrow 116-page bill – which Trump supported. Things got worse when the House of Representatives mustered just a paltry 174 votes for the Trump-backed bill, with 38 Republicans voting against it.
JOHNSON’S ALLIES CALL TRUMP TO INTERVENTE AS SPEAKER BOARD THREATENED DELAY OF 2024 CERTIFICATION.
The circumstances became even more dire when the House of Representatives actually voted to prevent a government shutdown during the holiday, but passed the bill with more Democrats (196) than Republicans (170). Thirty-four Republicans voted against.
Rep. Thomas Massie has vowed to vote against House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
About a dozen House Republicans have not committed to voting for Johnson, and Fox News estimated this week that between four and 10 may end up voting against him.
“The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all the destructive policies of the past administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hardworking, religious man,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “He’s going to do the right thing and we’re going to keep WINNING. Mike has my complete and total support. MAGA!!!”
Johnson survived a test of his presidency in May when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., launched a leave petition, forcing a vote to reconfirm him as House leader. At the time, 11 Republicans voted against him, and another 10 did not vote at all.
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However, Democrats then came to his aid, which House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected this time.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
