Donald Trump and Mike Johnson find themselves in a mutually beneficial situation—one seeking a smooth transition of presidential authority, and the other striving to retain his position as House speaker.
As a critical House vote looms on Friday, it remains uncertain whether Trump’s backing will secure Johnson’s continuation in his role, despite Trump endorsing the Louisiana Republican and appealing to potential dissenters within the GOP to align with him.
As Johnson increasingly appealed to Trump for assistance in preserving his speakership at the last minute, frustration grew among certain independent-minded conservatives. Approximately 15 to 20 Republican lawmakers were still undecided.
Rep. Thomas Massie expressed his strong disapproval straightforwardly, telling his previous colleague Matt Gaetz on the right-wing figure’s first broadcast on One America News Network Thursday night that he would refuse to vote for Johnson, regardless of how much pressure was applied.
“You could extract all my fingernails,” Massie stated. “You could insert bamboo into them. You could begin severing my fingers. I will not cast a vote for Mike Johnson tomorrow. You can bank on that.”
Other undecided members indicated to the Daily Beast that Johnson is unlikely to secure a victory on the initial ballot scheduled for noon on Friday.
Nonetheless, Republicans are fatigued by two consecutive years of internal strife, with options becoming exceedingly scarce.
“The reality is, there isn’t a viable alternative,” a source close to House GOP leadership shared with the Daily Beast Thursday night. “Postponing the speaker’s election merely postpones the Trump agenda.”
“There are two scenarios,” remarked another senior House Republican to the Daily Beast. Trump could either become upset and take action against the House Republicans who disregard his directives, “or he might abandon Johnson. The first scenario appears more probable.”
The GOP source pointed out that postponing the election of a speaker poses a considerable obstruction not only to enacting legislation on the floor but also to staffing and organizing committees.
Johnson conveyed to Fox News on Thursday night that he was optimistic about securing the necessary 218 votes to effortlessly uphold his leadership position.
Earlier, he mentioned to Fox News that divided Republicans “cannot afford a repeat of palace intrigue” as experienced in January 2023 with the vote-a-rama aimed at electing the temporarily-appointed speaker Kevin McCarthy.
In the GOP’s precarious majority, Johnson can only lose the backing of slightly more than two House Republicans, as Democrats have pledged their unified opposition to Johnson, aiming instead to elevate their own leader, Hakeem Jeffries. Thus far, only Massie has publically committed to opposing Johnson’s candidacy.
On Thursday, Trump reached out to at least one potential dissentient, Rep. Chip Roy—encouraging him to lend his support to Johnson, which would facilitate a seamless inauguration for himself. Roy, however, remained undecided by Thursday evening.
Roy, along with several other fiscally conservative firebrands, is upset with Johnson for what they perceive as an acceptance of extravagant government expenditures. The Texas Republican commenced his criticisms of Trump and others prior to Christmas and has continued to express his grievances.
“I am completely appalled by a party that runs on the platform of fiscal responsibility yet has the audacity to present to the American public the notion that this is fiscally sound. It’s utterly absurd,” Roy stated last month following Trump’s urging for House Republicans to endorse an increase in the debt ceiling.
