President-elect Donald Trump on Monday endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who faces reelection early next month with a narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives. “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The House is set to vote for a speaker on Friday following the swearing-in of the new Congress. Trump’s endorsement is considered vital for Johnson’s efforts to retain the leadership role he assumed in October 2023. The position would align Johnson closely with Trump, who is set to return to the White House on January 20, according to Reuters.
Johnson’s leadership has faced challenges, including 34 Republicans voting against his stopgap funding bill in December, with some arguing it favored Democrats. This has raised questions about whether these members will support Johnson in his bid for reelection as speaker. With Republicans holding a slim 219-215 majority in the House, party unity will be essential for Johnson to secure the position.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) told Fox News on Monday that she remains undecided, criticizing Johnson for his reluctance to bring votes on fiscal measures that she believes could hinder Trump’s agenda. Additionally, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has publicly announced that he will not support Johnson. Meanwhile, Trump criticized former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, calling the 2023 debt ceiling suspension “one of the dumbest political decisions made in years.”
However, while taking aim at McCarthy’s decision, Trump softened the criticism by referring to him as a friend and a good person. “The extension of the Debt Ceiling by a previous Speaker of the House, a good man and a friend of mine, from this past September of the Biden Administration, to June of the Trump Administration, will go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years. There was no reason to do it – NOTHING WAS GAINED, and we got nothing for it – A major reason why that Speakership was lost. It was Biden’s problem, not ours. Now it becomes ours,” Trump also wrote on Truth Social.
“I call it ‘1929’ because the Democrats don’t care what our Country may be forced into. In fact, they would prefer ‘Depression’ as long as it hurt the Republican Party. The Democrats must be forced to take a vote on this treacherous issue NOW, during the Biden Administration, and not in June. They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!” he added.
