Trump Endorses Mike Johnson as Speaker
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is holding onto the gavel by a strained thread right now, but Donald Trump has just tried to help his case.
It has taken some time, but Donald Trump has finally thrown in behind Johnson for Speaker.
Trump is openly endorsing Johnson and hoping to influence the upcoming vote for the Speaker on January 3.
Gonna Be Close
On Monday, Trump posted on Truth Social, "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!!!"
Johnson thanked Trump for the endorsement, responding, "Together, we will quickly deliver on your America First agenda and usher in the new golden age of America.”
I am not sure that will be enough, however.
Donald Trump has declared war against Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is not exactly in smooth waters with Trump either.
Both of them have stated they will not support Johnson, which only gives one more vote to spare, and there are at least a half-dozen other members of the GOP Caucus that have stated they may not support Johnson.
Mind you, they don’t have a candidate that will get more support than Johnson, but there is enough of a resistance here that will recreate the fiasco that took place in 2023 during the McCarthy election and aftermath.
There is a lot of venom being directed at Roy and Massie right now, but they are not alone in this mess.
As I have stated before, when Roy pushed back on spending, as well as other spending, Trump declared war on him, so Roy has no reason to give in to Trump at this point.
If Trump wants to get the full support of the caucus, he has to learn not to go into attack mode, and he also needs to realize that a congressman’s loyalty is not to Trump, but to his or her constituents.
When legislation is being crafted, they have to keep this in mind if they want everyone’s cooperation. This may not be what people want to hear, but that is the reality of this situation.
