House Speaker Mike Johnson's supporters are circling the wagons to ensure he will remain as the GOP leader, Fox News reported. Lawmakers hope to avoid in-fighting at the start of President-elect Donald Trump's new administration as another fight threatens to undermine Trump's new administration.
Republican lawmakers are still shell-shocked from the last fight over the speakership. Johnson's predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, endured 15 rounds of votes before finally being confirmed.
Despite the California Republican's eventual win, he wouldn't last in the position with some members of his party champing at the bit to get rid of him. McCarthy's fellow Republicans ousted him from the position, and a three-week fight ensued that hamstrung the Congress before Johnson became the replacement.
So far, Johnson has held onto his leadership position and avoided McCarthy's fate. Now his fellow lawmakers are urging colleagues to keep the status quo for to ensure a smooth transition for Trump when he takes over.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) warned that conflict with Johnson could prevent the new Congress from officially taking office. "If we have some kind of protracted fight where we can’t elect a speaker — the speaker’s not elected; we’re not sworn in," Giminez pointed out.
"And if we’re not sworn in, we can’t certify the election," he told Fox Digital. Gimenez believes Trump might hold the key to making this happen.
"I would hope that President Trump would chime in and talk to those who are maybe a little hesitant, and say, 'We’ve got to get going. We don’t have time.'" Gimenez added.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) similarly believes "it would be immensely helpful" for Trump to throw his weight behind Johnson. "Any time would be great, but right after Christmas if President Trump said, ‘You know, listen’ — it would even be really cool if somehow Mike Johnson ended up at Mar-a-Lago for Christmas… wherever the president is," Fallon hoped.
"I think it would be incredibly powerful," he added. Unfortunately, there is a tight timeline to getting this done as lawmakers return on Friday, Jan. 3, to elect the speaker before the vote is certified three days later on Jan. 6.
The concerns about instability are very real, but some conservatives are still pushing for a fight. The Hill reported that anonymous sources said lawmakers behind the scenes are urging Trump to give Johnson the boot.
"Members are calling Trump to dump Johnson," one of the sources told the news outlet. Another said that "members are sharing their discontent and concern, and he’s observing" Johnson’s "inability to decide, inability to get it done" in Congress.
“The president recognizes that [Johnson] is somebody he can push around. I think he’s weighing the benefit of that with, can this guy get it done," the second source said. Yet a third source shared that "there’s real concerns about his ability to manage the place" based on the spending deals Johnson has brokered.
"It’s just laying out what’s going on. You can kind of see what was happening with this was going to happen," the source noted. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) confirmed that these discussions have indeed been happening "for a couple of weeks" ahead of the vote.
Trump notched a decisive victory and should have smooth sailing ahead with such a mandate. Unfortunately, Republicans sometimes can't get out of their own way and might diminish Trump's power with these squabbles.
