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WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson received the Home Republican nomination Wednesday to remain on the job, on monitor to maintain the gavel after a morning endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump forward of a full Home vote within the new 12 months.
Whereas Johnson (R-La.) has no severe challenger, he faces dissent within his ranks, significantly from the Freedom Caucus and different hard-right conservatives withholding their votes as leverage to extract guarantees forward.
Trump informed Home Republicans, through the president-elect’s first trip again to Washington because the occasion swept the 2024 election, that he’s with the speaker all the way in which, in line with an individual conversant in the remarks however unauthorized to debate the personal assembly close to the Capitol.
Johnson heaped reward on Trump, calling him the “comeback king.”
It’s been a exceptional political journey for Johnson, the unintended speaker who rose as a final viable alternative to switch ousted former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) greater than a 12 months in the past and rapidly set a course by positioning himself alongside Trump and main Republicans throughout this 12 months’s elections.
As Johnson tells it, Trump is the “coach” and he’s the “quarterback” as they put together for a unified Republican authorities within the new 12 months.
Johnson has embraced Trump’s priorities on mass deportations, tax cuts, cutting the federal workforce and a more Trumpian U.S. image abroad. Collectively they’ve been engaged on what the speaker calls an bold 100-day agenda hoping to keep away from what he known as the errors of Trump’s first time period when Congress was unprepared and wasted “valuable time.”
Wednesday’s inside GOP vote was by voice somewhat than roll name or ballots, with no objections to Johnson, in line with the identical individual within the room.
However the consequence belies a harder street forward for the speaker.
Whereas Johnson expects to guide the Home in unified authorities, with Trump within the White Home and Republicans having seized the Senate majority, the Home is predicted to stay narrowly break up, at the same time as Home management stays undecided with closing races nonetheless too early to name.
However the issues that include a slim Home majority and plagued Johnson’s first 12 months as speaker when his personal ranks routinely revolted over his plans are prone to proceed within the new Congress, with a possible recent spherical of chaotic governing.
Johnson wants only a easy majority in Wednesday’s closed-door voting to win the GOP nomination to grow to be speaker. However he’ll want majority help of the total Home, 218 votes, to grab the gavel on Jan. 3, when the brand new Congress convenes and conducts the election for its speaker. It took McCarthy 15 rounds of voting in a weeklong election to win the gavel in 2023.
Trump has made Johnson’s issues extra difficult by tapping Home Republicans for his administration, decreasing the numbers additional. Simply earlier than voting, Trump tapped Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) as his nominee for lawyer basic, sending shockwaves by way of the room over the far-right decide.
“All people was saying, oh, my God,” Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) mentioned.
Nonetheless, with Trump within the White Home, the speaker might get pleasure from a interval of goodwill from his personal ranks as Republicans are wanting to disrupt the norms of governing and institutionalize Trump’s second-term agenda.
“His problem is what it’s all the time been,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the Freedom Caucus, mentioned of Johnson.
However he mentioned, “with Trump in cost, it’ll be simpler for him to ship.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who launched a failed effort final 12 months to oust Johnson from the speaker’s workplace, mentioned: “You understand who he’s going to should reply to? Donald Trump.”
And Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), who wore his “Make America Nice Once more” tie with Trump gold sneakers, informed reporters the occasion should put apart the chaos of the previous few years and unify behind the president-elect.
“If Donald Trump says, ‘Bounce three ft excessive and scratch your head,’ all of us leap three ft excessive and scratch our head,” Nehls mentioned.
Conservatives have been discussing whether or not to discipline their very own candidate as a sign to Johnson as they push their very own priorities, utilizing the identical tactic they did with McCarthy to power the speaker into concessions, significantly on steeper funds cuts.
As an alternative, they pulled Johnson apart for a prolonged personal dialog, as different lawmakers watched and waited. The afternoon dragged on.
Simpson, a seasoned lawmaker, bought bored with ready round on the Freedom Caucus calls for and left.
“It’s nonsense is what it’s,” Simpson mentioned. “Typically you may’t do every part our unique members wish to do.”
As Johnson begins the funds course of for subsequent 12 months, together with utilizing a so-called funds reconciliation course of that makes it simpler in unified authorities to push Trump’s agenda by way of the Home and Senate on easy majority votes, conservatives need him to load up these packages with their coverage priorities.
Johnson met with conservatives late Monday night for a personal dinner forward of votes.
“We’ll see what occurs,” mentioned Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), amongst these conservatives weighing their choices.
Democrats, who lent Johnson a hand at governing a number of instances in Congress — supplying the votes wanted to maintain the federal authorities funded and switch again the hassle by Greene to bounce him from workplace — are unlikely to assist him as they attempt to put a test on Trump’s agenda.
“Home Democrats are able to work with the brand new administration and can lengthen a hand of bipartisanship at any time when doable,” mentioned Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, the chairman of the Democratic Caucus.
However he mentioned Democrats “might be able to push in opposition to efforts” to throw thousands and thousands of People off healthcare and different GOP priorities.
It’s not simply the speaker election Wednesday, however Republicans can even decide their downballot management.
Majority Chief Steve Scalise, additionally of Louisiana, and GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota sailed to their reelections in management.
The No. 4 place, the Home GOP convention chair, is essentially the most contested, with Trump’s determination to faucet Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York as his ambassador to the United Nations. Her departure opens up the publish that’s being contested by a number of GOP lawmakers.
Mascaro, Amiri and Freking write for the Related Press.
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