President-elect Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson for another round as leader of the House of Representatives Monday.
Conservatives had wondered if Trump would oppose Johnson’s bid after the president-elect effectively killed the first massive spending bill to fund the government earlier this month.
“We are the Party of COMMON SENSE, a primary reason that we WON, in a landslide, the magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024,” Trump began in a post on Truth Social.
The president-elect celebrated the fact that he won every swing state, 312 Electoral College votes, and more votes than Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
“LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN,” Trump added. “The American people need IMMEDIATE relief from all of the destructive policies of the last Administration. Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
When the House of Representatives convenes on Friday, selecting a speaker will be the first order of business. Trump’s endorsement makes Johnson’s victory far more likely.
The endorsement comes after a month of high drama on the Hill. Ahead of a government funding deadline on Dec. 20, two versions of a must-pass spending bill publicly failed in the House, raising questions about Johnson’s leadership.
Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate drafted a compromise bill, known as a continuing resolution, to fund the government through March 14, 2025. That bill, more than 1,500 pages long, would have funded the government at current levels, but it also included other provisions, including pay increases for members of Congress, funding for a State Department agency that has reportedly targeted conservative media outlets, and a provision to give the government of Washington, D.C., control of the area around Robert F. Kennedy Stadium.
After the bill became public, Tesla founder Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy—whom Trump tapped to lead his nongovernmental advisory group the Department of Government Efficiency—loudly opposed the bill, and House Speaker Mike Johnson pulled it after Trump joined the critics.
A skinnier bill failed on Dec. 19 before a final resolution ultimately passed before the deadline on the Friday before Christmas.
Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., suggested that Musk and Ramaswamy should run for speaker.
This article was originally published at www.dailysignal.com
