House Speaker Mike Johnson stares down a difficult battle to retain the gavel on Friday, even despite an endorsement from President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite narrowly hanging on to the GOP majority, Johnson’s speakership hangs in the balance after a series of moves to fund the government that angered conservatives over the effort’s failure to cut spending.
On the opening day of the 119th Congress, the House will vote on a measure to elect a new speaker, and Americans will catch a rare glimpse of the drama that breaks out on the House floor. C-SPAN has been granted permission to run cameras inside the chamber.
If every member votes, Johnson can only afford one Republican defection and still hold on to his job. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has already said he will not vote for Johnson.
While other Republicans have refused to affirm their support for Johnson, none have joined Massie in vowing publicly not to vote for him.
“I’m going to talk to Mike and raise my concerns. As of right now, I’m still undecided,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.
Trump this week gave Johnson his “complete and total endorsement,” and the speaker vote will test the hold he has on the new Congress.
Compounding the pressure is the uncertainty about what a drawn-out speaker race would mean for the incoming president. Congress has never certified a presidential election without a speaker at the helm.
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Rep. Chip Roy said on X that he is also “still undecided” on Johnson for speaker.
“But something MUST change,” he added. “We cannot allow what happened right before Christmas, where a 1500+ page bill was attempted to be jammed through over our objections … all of which could have been avoided with any serious planning & communication.”
Johnson, however, said that he is confident he will attain enough votes.
“We’re going to get this done,” Johnson told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” on Thursday. “We’re shifting into a brand-new paradigm. We have unified government that begins tomorrow. We have the White House, the Senate, and the House. A totally different situation than we dealt with over the last 14 months since I’ve been speaker. So, we’re excited to deliver on the America first agenda. It begins on day one, and all that begins right here tomorrow.”
Johnson met with several potential GOP holdouts in the speaker’s office on Thursday, such as Reps. Victoria Spartz, Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andy Harris, Andy Ogles, Michael Cloud and Eli Crane.
Last month, Johnson scrambled to pass legislation to avert a government shutdown and once again kick the funding deadline down the road to March. Though he was ultimately successful, the House went through three iterations of a continuing resolution and ultimately settled on one that could pass with the help of Democrats, who made up for the 34 angry GOP defectors.
Congress balked at the original 1,500-page spending bill then defeated a narrow, 116-page bill – which Trump endorsed. Things got worse when the House only mustered a scant 174 yeas for the Trump-supported bill, with 38 Republicans voting nay.
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Circumstances grew even more dire when the House actually voted to avert a holiday government shutdown but passed the bill with more Democrats (196) than Republicans (170). Thirty-four Republicans voted nay.
Around a dozen House Republicans have not committed to voting for Johnson, and Fox News projected this week anywhere from four to 10 could ultimately end up voting no.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday. “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
Johnson survived a test to his speakership in May when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., launched a motion to vacate, forcing a vote to reaffirm him as the House’s leader. Eleven Republicans voted against him at that time, with another 10 not voting at all.
However, Democrats came to his rescue at that time, a prospect that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has ruled out this time around.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.