President-elect Donald Trump appeared to back Mike Johnson’s speakership bid during his visit with the House GOP Wednesday morning, hours ahead of an internal party leadership vote, according to five people in the room.
“He said, ‘I am with him all the way,’” according to two people.
Trump is meeting with House Republicans hours before an internal leadership election where they are expected to elect Johnson as their speaker nominee. That election will be conducted via secret ballot and only requires a simple majority.
It’s a significant boost for Johnson, who has tied himself closely to the incoming president and needs his support in order to win the gavel in a tougher Jan. 3 vote, when Johnson will need near-unanimous support from House Republicans to officially become speaker. But Trump’s endorsement isn’t a surprise — both the Louisiana Republican and his critics predicted that Trump would give Johnson his support during the closed-door meeting.
Johnson predicted it in a brief interview with POLITICO Tuesday night, saying: “He’s been talking very publicly everywhere about this, so I expect he’ll do it again tomorrow.”
Trump holds significant sway over the House GOP conference. His endorsement of Johnson could force the speaker’s opponents to decide if having a monthslong fight over the speakership and their demands on certain House rules is worth crossing Trump. And Johnson’s allies bet conservatives won’t want to be seen as an impediment to Trump’s agenda as he assumes power with likely both chambers of Congress under GOP control.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), a conservative who has previously expressed doubts about Johnson’s leadership, indicated after Trump’s endorsement that he would back the speaker.
He said Trump should get “the team he wants on the field.”
While Trump’s endorsement might shrink Johnson’s opposition, it’s not going to completely dissipate. House conservatives are still planning to force an internal vote on his speakership on Wednesday afternoon, instead of letting Johnson be nominated by a voice vote that would allow him to claim unanimous support.
Johnson also lavished praise on Trump during the closed-door meeting, calling him a “singular figure in American history.”
“They used to call Bill Clinton the comeback kid, [Trump] is the comeback king,” Johnson said.
Later on, Trump remarked to Johnson, according to a person in the room: “Mike you’re going to have a tremendous year. Tremendous two years.”
Then, he said to the room: “Get it all done. Unify.”