WASHINGTON (CNN) – House Speaker Mike Johnson faces an uphill battle to keep the gavel even with support from President Donald Trump, but within the constraints of an unusually slim majority. , the president-elect’s influence over the party will be tested.
Trump’s support could help strengthen Johnson’s support, especially after he weathered a chaotic government funding battle that drew the ire of the right earlier this month. But because of the historically small majority in the new parliament, if all members vote when the House of Commons elects a new speaker on Friday, Prime Minister Johnson can only leave one member of the party.
And one House Republican, Rep. Thomas Massey, has already said he won’t vote for Johnson. The Kentucky Republican told CNN on Monday that Trump’s endorsement does not change his position.
One person familiar with the matter told CNN that members were preparing to support Trump. However, the same source warned that it may not be enough. For now, Mr Johnson’s supporters are keeping a close eye on members who have not yet endorsed him.
In addition to Trump’s support, if Republicans remain in resistance, the House could face pressure from Johnson’s allies over its influence on the next president if it does not quickly elect a speaker.
Congress has never previously attempted to certify a presidential election without a House speaker, and Republicans across Washington are privately trying to consider what would happen if that scenario occurred.
So far, Republican lawmakers and senior advisers have said they see no clear option to certify Trump’s victory without a presiding officer, according to multiple sources. Some Johnson supporters point to that as part of their argument for why stalwart Republicans should support the current speaker.
“Opposing Johnson now weakens the Republican Party and strengthens Hakeem Jeffries. It also jeopardizes the certification of electors scheduled for January 6th. Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon told CNN.
Johnson allies conduct major whip operation
In recent weeks, Mr. Johnson’s surrogates have launched a major whip campaign, but it remains difficult to get 218 votes, the magic number needed to win the gavel to Mr. Johnson, a Louisiana Republican. Challenges remain.
A Republican lawmaker familiar with the effort told CNN that the majority of Republicans understand how “monstrous stupidity” large-scale speaker contests can become, but that the party remains united in voting. He said not all members were swayed by the argument that it was necessary to go to war. Inauguration ceremony.
“The vast majority of Republicans are reasonable, but not all members of the Republican conference are rational,” he lamented.
Before announcing their support for Mr. Trump, CNN counted its members and found that nearly 10 others had not yet announced their support for Mr. Johnson.
President Trump said Monday that he has “full” and “complete” support for Johnson.
“The American people need immediate relief from all the destructive policies of the previous administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard-working, and godly man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to win. Mike has my full and complete support. MAGA!!!,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Big shadow over Johnson’s election as chairman: Trump’s certification
Even former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who has previously clashed with Johnson and his leadership team, said his former colleagues should support the current speaker rather than jeopardize Trump’s presidential certification. he suggested.
“We wouldn’t have been able to force McCarthy to concede two years ago if Trump’s certification was at stake. Now we are,” Gaetz told X, adding that resistance to Johnson was ” “It’s a waste,” he said.
The Speaker has no formal role in certifying the results, but the House must be in session. And without a Speaker, the House can do nothing except vote to elect the Speaker, vote to adjourn, and vote to adjourn. Members cannot take the oath or set the rules of the House.
“We’re literally just stuck in a cyclical pattern of speaker votes overseen by the clerk,” said one Republican official, explaining what would happen if there was no speaker at the start of a new Congress.
And unlike the last speakerless debacle in the House in 2023, there is no interim leader ready to take over. After former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted, Representative Patrick McHenry became Speaker pro tempore. Because he was the person McCarthy appointed when he first took the gavel. However, the 119th Congress must first elect a speaker before appointing a speaker pro tempore.
Some Republican lawmakers are privately discussing ways to push procedural limits that would allow Congress to certify Trump’s victory without their leaders. One official described an “emergency glass-breaking option” that would include allowing the House to vote to enter a special session. But that will be difficult for many institutionalist Republicans.
Another option that has been privately floated around Washington is to delay Trump’s certification date.
Another Republican official said, “There is no constitutional obligation to do it on January 6th,” as long as it is done by January 20th, Inauguration Day.
Mr Johnson’s allies are working hard to contain the vote, insisting he will keep the gavel on Friday. But Republicans and Democrats alike want answers about what will happen to the certification if the House remains without a speaker three days later.
“Without a speaker, thousands of important governing tasks will be affected,” said one Republican lawmaker who is helping Mr. Johnson get votes. “Obviously, the whip team recognizes that not having a speaker is an issue for a variety of reasons.”
Mr Johnson faces conservative ire over spending battle
After Mr. Johnson cut a deal with Democrats over spending in mid-December, Mr. Trump made a last-minute push to raise the debt ceiling, leaving Mr. Johnson to seek a Plan B. The revised Republican plan ultimately did not receive enough Republican votes to pass, causing chaos. Between Johnson’s right flank, a speaker complained that he was not qualified for the job. Others questioned whether Mr. Trump would stick with Mr. Johnson ahead of the race for chairman.
Mr Massey said earlier this month that he had no intention of supporting Mr Johnson in the election for speaker. In response to President Trump’s support, Massey told ” he wrote. We’ve seen Johnson work with Democrats to send money to Ukraine, authorize spying on Americans, and deplete the budget. ”
Another challenge is that the House Freedom Caucus, which includes some of the members most cautious about Johnson’s re-election, has not issued a unified list of demands, creating a situation where each member is somewhat like a free agent.
For some party members, the concern is how the party will begin to repass separate spending bills to tackle the nation’s debt and deficit reduction. That may be difficult, given that House Republicans have repeatedly shown they don’t have the votes to pass all 12 spending bills with Republican votes alone. Needless to say, Republicans will continue to need Democratic votes to keep the government funded in the Trump administration, given that Republicans don’t have the 60 votes they need in the Senate to pass the bill alone. I would.
Mr Johnson has also told the public he is not willing to reduce the number of MPs needed to force a vote to remove the Speaker after the Republican conference agreed to raise the threshold. As part of November’s full conference negotiations, Republicans decided to increase the number of senators needed to force a vote on a so-called resignation motion from one to nine. A person familiar with Mr Johnson’s thinking said he believed he could not reverse what he viewed as the negotiated position at the meeting.
Mr. McCarthy went through 15 rounds to take the House speaker’s gavel in 2023, but ultimately acquiesced to conservative demands to lower the threshold for one-member motion to vacate the House. led to his dismissal.
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