Donald Trump backs Mike Johnson to remain House speaker

President-elect Donald Trump backed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in his campaign to hold on to the gavel, writing Monday on his social media platform that Johnson has his “Complete & Total Endorsement.” 

“Speaker Mike John­son is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump, who will begin his second term on Jan. 20 with plans for a sweeping reform agenda focused on immigration and other priorities, urged his party to stick together heading into 2025. “LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN,” he wrote. 

Johnson responded, promising to “quickly deliver” on Trump’s agenda. The speaker’s election is Friday when the new Congress begins. Days later, on Jan. 6, the new Congress is set to certify Trump's victory in the election.

Trump’s statement follows recent warnings that Johnson could face defections within his party in Friday's vote for speaker. He can afford to lose only a handful of Republican votes, given Republicans' slim House majority. Republicans won a razor-thin House majority in November with 220 seats. Since then, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has stepped down to pursue a Cabinet nomination, from which he later withdrew, bringing the number of House Republicans to 219.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced last week that he would not support Johnson’s re-election. “I’m not persuaded by the ‘hurry up and elect him so we can certify the election on J6’ argument,” Massie said on X. “A weak legislative branch, beholden to the swamp, will not be able to achieve the mandate voters gave Trump and Congress in November.”

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Support for Johnson among some Republican members appeared to falter amid his efforts to push through a bipartisan end-of-year spending deal that was ripped apart by billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump ally. Republicans voted against the plan and then voted down a slimmed-down agreement that included a demand by Trump to raise the debt ceiling, though the true deadline to lift the country’s borrowing limit is not likely to come until the middle of next year.

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Johnson touts passage of government funding bill

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Johnson ultimately oversaw passage of a deal that did not include Trump’s provision to raise the debt ceiling and angered some conservatives over its lack of spending cuts.

Trump’s latest statement follows a show of support Sunday from Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who argued that Johnson inherited those circumstances from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was ousted by a group of eight Republicans.

Lawler said in an interview with ABC News that Johnson “inherited a disaster” and that the removal of McCarthy “will go down as the single stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in politics.”

“With that said, removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid,” Lawler said on "This Week." “The fact is that these folks are playing with fire, and if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves.”

NBC News has reported that Trump expressed support for Johnson in November in a meeting with House Republicans, according to GOP sources. But he appeared to waver on his support shortly after he denounced the bipartisan government funding deal Johnson released this month.

“We’ll see,” Trump responded on Dec. 19 when he was asked whether he still had confidence in Johnson.

Trump's statement Monday may tamp down rumblings inside the House that Republicans should search for an alternative to Johnson.

Soon after Trump shared his endorsement, Musk responded to Johnson on X to offer his "full support."

Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., who earlier sent a letter to Johnson asking for some commitments before she could vote for him for speaker, indicated that she was not swayed by Trump's endorsement alone.

“I understand why President Trump is endorsing Speaker Johnson as he did Speaker Ryan, which is definitely important,” Spartz wrote on X, referring to former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., whose re-election for speaker Trump backed during his first term. “However, we still need to get assurances that @SpeakerJohnson won’t sell us out to the swamp.”