President-elect Donald Trump once again gave his resounding endorsement to House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday, as the Louisiana Republican himself expressed confidence that he will retain his leadership position in an upcoming Friday vote. “We’re going to get this done,” the Louisiana Republican stated during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday.
The House floor vote for the speakership marks the first official action of the 119th Congress, aside from the traditional quorum call to assemble members. The vote will take place before members are formally sworn into office. Johnson faces a slim margin for error in the upcoming speaker vote, with only one or two GOP defections allowable, depending on whether former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida participates. Gaetz has indicated his intention to resign from the 119th Congress but has not yet finalized his departure.
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has already announced he will not support Johnson, and several other Republicans remain undecided, adding to the uncertainty surrounding the vote. “We cannot afford any palace drama here,” Johnson said. “We have got to get the Congress started, which begins tomorrow, and we have to get immediately to work. We have to certify the election of President Donald J. Trump on January 6, on Monday. And we have many important things pressing on us right now, so there’s no time to waste. We have to stay unified.”
Trump has endorsed Johnson for retaining his leadership position. Speaking at his New Year’s Eve celebration at Mar-a-Lago, Trump expressed confidence that Republicans would vote to keep Johnson as speaker. “He’s the one that can win right now,” Trump said, according to the Washington Times. “People like him. Almost everybody likes him. Others are very good too, but they have 30 or 40 people that don’t like them, so that’s pretty tough.” He added that he would call individual Republican members of Congress on Johnson’s behalf if need be.
“But I think really we’re going to have a great time. We’re going to get a successful vote,” he said. “He’s a good man. He’s a wonderful person, and that’s what you need.” Johnson said he is “humbled and honored” to have Trump’s endorsement, as well as support from leaders across the Republican Party. “The American people gave us a mandate. You know, President Trump got 77 million votes, we got almost 75 million for House Republicans, the largest number ever,” the speaker said. “And they have sent us a message that they want us to begin fixing all of this, and we will.”
