President-elect Donald Trump on Monday endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson, providing a crucial boost to the Louisiana Republican as he prepares for what is expected to be another contentious race for speaker this week.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump called Johnson a “good, hardworking, religious man” and said he “will do the right thing and we will continue to win.”
“Mike has my full and complete endorsement,” he wrote.
Johnson thanked Trump for his endorsement and added: “The American people demand and deserve that we not waste any time. Let’s get to work!”
Trump’s gesture of support comes despite his frustration with a spending deal Johnson pushed through the House days before Christmas that failed to achieve his central goal of raising the debt limit.
But other Republicans were less forgiving. Far-right criticism of the spending woes has once again put Johnson’s continued leadership of the incoming GOP majority in jeopardy. Despite reaching a deal that avoided a holiday shutdown, Johnson had to rely on Democrats to keep the government running, highlighting the limits of his influence and exposing cracks in his party’s support.
The speaker’s initial two funding plans collapsed when Trump, who will not be sworn in until Jan. 20, intervened in calls to suspend or raise the government’s debt ceiling.
Johnson, who has worked hard to stay close to Trump over the past few months, persuaded the president-elect that he would meet his demands to raise the debt limit in 2025.
Trump remained quiet about Johnson’s fate ahead of the Jan. 3 leadership vote for more than a week, even as some Republicans indicated they might not support Johnson for the role.
“Our next president must show courageous leadership to get our country back on track,” Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the Republicans who opposed Kevin McCarthy’s initial bid for speaker, said in a statement Monday.
The Indiana representative went on to make a series of demands of the next GOP majority leader, including a major spending overhaul. Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, also suggested that Johnson’s future as speaker was uncertain before the holiday.
In a Dec. 20 post on Channel X, Harris said Republicans have not done enough to cut “spending, deficits, and inflation” since Trump’s November election victory.
For that reason, Harris wrote, “I am now ambivalent about what House leadership should look like in the 119th Congress.”
