Allies of President Mike Johnson, R-La., are urging President-elect Trump to publicly reaffirm his support for the House Republican leader to avoid a protracted and complicated battle that could delay the certification of his own victory.
“If we have some kind of protracted fight where we can’t elect a president, the president isn’t elected; we don’t take an oath. And if we don’t take an oath, we can’t certify the election,” the representative said. Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.
“I would hope that President Trump would step in and talk to those who are maybe a little hesitant and say, ‘We have to get going. We don’t have time.'”
Meanwhile, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that “it would be immensely helpful” if Trump intervened.
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President Mike Johnson’s allies are seeking help from President-elect Trump to avoid a long and complicated race for the presidency. (Getty Images)
“Any time would be great, but right after Christmas, if President Trump said, ‘You know, listen,’ it would even be great if somehow Mike Johnson ended up at Mar-a-Lago to spend Christmas… wherever he is.” the president.” Fallon said. “I think it would be incredibly powerful.”
House lawmakers return to Washington, DC, for a House-wide vote to elect the president on Friday, January 3. A few days later, on Monday, January 6, the House will meet to certify the results of the 2024 elections.
Johnson faces a potentially tough battle to win the president’s gavel for a full term in Congress, with several House Republicans openly criticizing the Louisiana Republican and his handling of government funding.
His predecessor suffered 14 public defeats in his bid to win the gavel, finally succeeding after days of negotiations with holdouts on the 15th House-wide vote.
When he was ousted, Johnson won after a three-week battle between Republicans that saw Congress paralyzed for the duration.
But some House Republicans now warn that they can afford few delays in what Trump himself has said he expects to be a busy first 100 days of his second term.
“To ensure that President Trump can take office and hit the ground running on January 20, we must be able to certify the 2024 election on January 6. However, without a speaker, we cannot complete this process,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney. RN.Y., told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, is one of Johnson’s defenders. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tenney warned that this could delay “the launch of his agenda.”
Congress narrowly averted a partial government shutdown hours after the Dec. 20 federal funding deadline, passing a bill to extend that deadline to March 14 while also extending several other key programs and replenishing the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund.
This angered GOP hardliners who opposed adding unrelated policy provisions to what they believed would be a simpler extension of government funding.
Johnson also tried unsuccessfully to address Trump’s demand to combine action on the debt limit, which was suspended until January 2025, with his government funding bill, after 38 House Republicans and all but two Democrats will vote against.
Fallon told Fox News Digital that didn’t necessarily mean they would challenge Trump if he endorsed Johnson again before Jan. 3.
“Some of the people in the 38s, that was more of a matter of principle… they really want to attack the debt,” Fallon said. “They felt like they should just let the debt ceiling lapse for two years…they like to use that as a negotiating tool to say, ‘Let’s lower the debt-to-GDP ratio.'”
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But one of Johnson’s biggest critics, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already told reporters that he will not vote for Johnson next year.
Two more, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., and Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, suggested they were no longer committed to endorsing Johnson over the weekend.
Meanwhile, there have been media reports that Trump is unhappy with the way Johnson handled government funding and that his debt limit demand was not met.
Trump himself has not publicly mentioned Johnson since Friday’s vote. But Trump’s top allies, such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, have come to Johnson’s defense.
It took 15 rounds of voting for former President Kevin McCarthy to win the gavel. (Valerie Plesch)
“He is without a doubt the most conservative House speaker we have ever had in our lifetime,” Cruz said on his podcast “The Verdict.” “If Mike Johnson is ousted as House Speaker, we will end up with a House Speaker who is much, much more liberal than Mike Johnson.”
Others have also pointed out that Trump’s influence will weigh heavily on what ultimately happens.
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A House Republican who was granted anonymity to speak freely told Fox News Digital early last week that they considered opposing Johnson, but said Trump would be the final deciding factor.
“I think ultimately it will come down to who President Trump likes, because I think that will weigh heavily in the decision-making, because President Trump currently works very well with Mike Johnson. They have a great relationship.”, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Asked if he would support Johnson if Trump did so, despite opposing his government funding plans, Burchett said “Possibly.”
Johnson will enter the Jan. 3 presidential election with only a narrow three-vote Republican margin, and is virtually unlikely to gain Democratic support.
