United States President-elect Donald Trump has agreed to continue the presidency of Mike Johnson in the House of Representatives, in an attempt to reduce Republican tensions in the new year.
In a post on his online platform, Truth Social, on Monday, Trump appealed to his Make America Great Again (MAGA) foundation to support Johnson, who is currently the speaker of the House.
“Prophet Mike Johnson is a good, hardworking, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Complete Knowledge. MAGIC!!!” Trumpet he wrote.
But the road ahead for Johnson is set to be tough. On January 3, the new Congress meets, following the November election. And Republicans are gearing up for a tough debate over who they'll vote for as the next speaker, who is the most senior member of the House of Representatives.
Johnson is the best choice, as the speaker. But his actions in delivering the final budget later this month signaled the collapse of the Republican caucus — and the return of his leadership.
A Louisiana representative known for his pro-people policies, Johnson will need every Republican vote he can muster to secure the speakership.
When the 119th Congress convenes, Republicans will hold one of the smallest majorities in the House in modern history. They hold 219 of the House's 435 seats, giving them more than 50 percent of the chamber's votes.
Democrats traditionally vote for the leader of the House from their party. As a result, even a minority of Republicans could destroy Johnson the speaker.
Already, several Republican members of the House have opposed Johnson's leadership. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, for example, has said he will not vote for Louisiana's representative.
“I'm going to vote for someone other than Mike Johnson,” Massie he wrote on social media on December 27. “A weak legislative branch, look at the swamp, can not fulfill the responsibility of the voters given Trump and Congress in November.”
One of the reasons for this disagreement lies in Johnson's support for the bipartisan budget bill that ultimately was. signed into law on December 21, to avoid a government shutdown during the holiday season.
Several Republicans criticized the measure as a waste of money. Others, including Massie, showed concerns that the previous version of the bill contained provisions that exceeded the budget. They called for a “clean” budget instead.
And there was also the omission of a very important thing that Trump himself had. Trump called for the bill to contain language that would extend or eliminate the debt ceiling, which limits how much the government can borrow.
Traditionally, the federal budget is discussed separately from the debt. But on social media, Trump called for the debt negotiations to take place under President Joe Biden, a Democrat, instead of during his tenure.
Under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the debt was suspended until January 1, 2025.
But Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has already warned that the government could breach its borrowing limit by the middle of the month, hampering its debt service and the nation's debt.
Trump himself is due to take office for a second term on January 20. He has called the debt ceiling a “guillotine” hanging over his administration.
Finally, a Johnson led the budget it passed without Trump's proposed debt legislation.
Such disagreements have cost him one speaker's seat. Johnson's boss, former Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, also oversaw the passage of an economic bill that was opposed by the right wing of his party.
This led to the impeachment of McCarthy's leadership in October 2023. Members of the Freedom Caucus, a coalition of independent activists, agreed to remove McCarthy from the voting post in history – to mark the first time the speaker had been forced to leave his seat.
But the decision threw the House Republicans into chaos for weeks, as members of the party struggled to find a new leader. Johnson was not the first choice: He was the fourth candidate to be appointed to the post.
Since then, Johnson has met a a similar attempt to bring him down from the speaker.
On Monday, however, Trump sought to distance the Republican Party from the chaos of the past. In his social media posts, he tried instead to cast the Democrats as a non-aligned party.
“We are the Party of COMMON SENSE, the main reason we won,” Trump wrote.
Then he repeated his claims of election fraud, this time focusing on House races in states like California. “EVERYTHING WAS OVERCOME WITH DIFFICULTY, COURAGE, AND CHARACTER.”
For his part, Johnson thanked Trump for his support as he seeks a full year as speaker.
“Thank you, President Trump! I am honored and humbled by your support, as always,” Johnson he wrote on social media. He also offered his support for Trump's second term.
“Together, we will quickly deliver what you want America First and usher in a new golden age for America. The American people want and deserve that we don't waste time. Let's get to work!”
The question remains, however, whether Trump's endorsement will be decisive in the upcoming vote. In the past, Massie has said that Johnson will not get the vote, no matter what Trump says.
“I respect and support President Trump, but his endorsement of Mike Johnson will happen and his endorsement of Speaker Paul Ryan,” Massie. he wrote on social media, meaning the former speaker of the Trump House supported it.
Massie warned Johnson that he could open up the door to Democrats' priorities and limit spending on federal funds, as Ryan said. “We've seen Johnson collude with Democrats to send money to Ukraine, approve American spies, and blow the budget.”