Are You Ready for Acting President Chuck Grassley?

On Friday the House of Representatives will take a vote on who will be the Speaker for the 116th Congress. Current House Speaker Mike Johnson is hoping to keep his job, but a handful of Republicans are considering voting against him in an effort to seat someone new. Who that new Speaker might be is still a mystery.

Rep. SPARTZ tells @willcain she thinks "a lot of other people are interested" in being Speaker.

Spartz is not committed to supporting Speaker Johnson and alleges he's "not willing to have the deliberation" with members who have issues.

Johnson can only afford to lose one more… pic.twitter.com/mnXf9RTMf4
— Ryan Schmelz (@RyanSchmelzFOX) December 30, 2024

So, what happens if Johnson gets voted down Friday? He needs 218 votes for an outright majority. Republican Congressman Thomas Massie is a solid no and isn't changing his vote. Only two Republican members have to vote against Johnson for him to lose the Speaker's gavel. The timing of the vote could cause major headaches for the incoming Trump administration.

The House cannot operate without a Speaker. That vote occurs Friday, January 3. The vote to certify the 2024 presidential election is just three days later on January 6. When Republicans ousted former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, it took three weeks to get to a consensus around then Congressman Mike Johnson, who ultimately became the Speaker. Past elections have lasted for months.

But there are only two weeks between January 6 and January 20. If the House can't find a Speaker in time to get the election certified, President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance cannot take office even though President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will leave their posts.

With a non-functioning House, Trump, Vance and the House Speaker are out of the chain-of-command, which puts the Senate pro tempore in as acting president. On January 20, 2025, that will be Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.

"Article One, Section Three of the U.S. Constitution designates the vice president of the United States serves as the presiding officer of the upper chamber of congress. However typically, the Vice President does not preside over all senate business, and a pro tempore, or placeholder, oversees the daily business of the chamber," the Northern Iowan reports. "As the president pro tempore, this position will also place the senior Iowa senator into the presidential line of succession, meaning he would become the president of the United States in the event the President, vice president and speaker of the House of Representatives could not discharge their duties. The role traditionally has been given to the senior-most member of the majority party."

So, it's all about simple math and timing. Trump took to Truth Social Monday in an effort to avoid the scenario and endorsed Johnson for Speaker -- telling Republicans not to blow it.

"We are the Party of COMMON SENSE, a primary reason that we WON, in a landslide, the magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024. ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, 312 ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES, AND THE POPULAR VOTE BY MILLIONS OF VOTERS (Despite large scale voter fraud taking place in numerous states, including California, where votes are ridiculously still being counted, or under review!), ALL WON WITH EASE, CALM, & PROFESSIONALISM," Trump wrote.

"Republicans are being praised for having run a 'legendary' campaign! Democrats are being excoriated for their effort, having wasted 2.5 Billion Dollars, much of it unaccounted for, with some being used to illegally buy endorsements ($11,000,000 to Beyoncé, who never even sang a song, $2,000,000 to Oprah for doing next to nothing, and even $500,000 to Reverend AL, a professional con man and instigator, who agreed to 'interview”'their 'star spangled' candidates, Kamala and Joe)," Trump continued. "We ran a flawless campaign, having spent FAR LESS, with lots of money left over. They ran a very expensive 'sinking ship,' embracing DOJ & FBI WEAPONIZATION against their political opponent, ME. BUT IT DIDN’T WORK, IT WAS A DISASTER!!! LETS NOT BLOW THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY WHICH WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN. 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!!!"