House Speaker Mike Johnson is reportedly not in good graces with President-elect Donald Trump.
Johnson needs Trump’s support to keep the gavel on January 3, the day House Republicans will have an option to renew or cancel his speakership.
Johnson appears on the outs with Trump due to his decision last week to try to pass a massive continuing resolution, filled with pork and at Democrat-raised spending levels.Trump torpedoed the measure and demanded a smaller bill with a debt level extension.Johnson’s response was to pass a bill without a debt level extension that only kept the government open until March 14.
Politico’s Rachael Bade reported:
Amid the chaos in Washington, I was in Palm Beach talking to people close to the past and future president and called up other confidants afterward. This much became clear to me: Not only is Trump unhappy with the funding deal, he’s unhappy with Johnson, too.
He’s unhappy that he didn’t get the debt ceiling hike he made clear he wanted. He felt blindsided by the initial deal Johnson struck with Democrats. And, in the end, he was unimpressed with the entire chaotic process, which left the incoming administration questioning whether Johnson is capable of managing an even thinner majority next year.
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And, as of this weekend, it’s an open question at Mar-a-Lago about whether Trump will lift a finger to help him. Trump is sitting back and watching the coverage, I’m told, mulling whether it’s worth it to defenestrate another speaker.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s best chance to keep the gavel is to allow House Democrats to vote for him, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) told reporters Friday.
Johnson can only lose one House Republican without a single Democrat vote. Up to 25 House Republicans are possibly voting against Johnson for Speaker, a senior House GOP staffer told Breitbart News’s Matt Boyle.
If Democrats, along with some establishment Republicans, enable Johnson to retain the speakership, he would be in a power-sharing agreement with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries; the Democrat leader would demand something of Johnson in return for Democrat votes.
A power-sharing agreement in the House seems unpalatable for Trump, who won a landslide election to implement his agenda.
Johnson’s speakership, according to Romney’s scenario, appears to be in an untenable position: Johnson either accepts Democrat votes to remain Speaker, dismissing Trump’s mandate and infuriating the Republican base, or forgoes standing for re-election.
Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.
