House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is doing some last-minute scrambling in an effort to get enough support from GOP lawmakers to retain his position.
Johnson has fallen out of favor with many of his conservative-leaning colleagues over the spending bill debacle that occurred in December amid fears of a government shutdown.
The Speaker has reportedly met with several Republican Congress members, including some belonging to the House Freedom Caucus.
Hardline conservatives have raised serious doubts about Johnson’s ability to lead, especially when it comes to slashing spending. One House Republican told The Hill on Thursday said they “want a real commitment for real spending cuts. And then the other thing is that we want him to start using the members to negotiate these bills and what’s gonna be in these packages.”
However, Johnson has reportedly stated that he has no intention of making deals with various factions.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) has not yet committed to backing Johnson, but she also met with the Speaker. She has previously called for an effort to reduce government spending. “We had a good conversation, I think he’s agreeing with a lot of stuff, but it’s tough to deliver,” the lawmaker told The Hill.
Johnson remains undeterred. A senior House Republican said the Speaker is “talking to everyone” but “not delegating hardly anything.”
President-elect Donald Trump has remained steadfast in his support for Johnson despite having some prior doubts after the spending bill kerfuffle. Still, some lawmakers have not been swayed by the president-elect’s support, including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) Chip Roy (R-TX), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
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For his part, Massie has already publicly declared that he will not vote for Johnson and even referred to him as the “next Paul Ryan.”
Still, plenty of GOP lawmakers have spoken out in favor of Johnson. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) told CNN that opposing Johnson “weakens the GOP and strengthens [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries” and “puts at risk the Electoral College Certification scheduled for 6 Jan.”
JUST IN: Mike Johnson has a 91% chance of being elected Speaker tomorrow - Polymarket
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 2, 2025
Followed by Tom Emmer, Jim Jordan, Steve Scalise, Hakeem Jeffries, Byron Donalds and Thomas Massie.
Who should it be? pic.twitter.com/Gvarl9gTf5
If the House has no speaker, it could jeopardize the certification of the election, which could mean that Trump will not take office on January 20. However, it is possible that the House could conduct the certification before January 6, when it typically happens. Still, there could be even more issues.
But this time, there’s a huge shadow over the race: Congress has never before tried to certify a presidential election without a House speaker in place. Even senior Republicans say it’s unclear what would happen if there is no speaker on January 6 — when Congress is scheduled to certify Trump’s win — and they’re not eager not to find out.
The vote for Speaker is set to be held on Friday, which explains why Johnson is working so hard to gin up support. He can only afford to lose one Republican vote if he is to remain Speaker – and Massie has already indicated that this will happen on Friday. However, since no other Republican lawmaker has definitively stated that they will vote for a different candidate, uncertainty remains.
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