Trump predicts Mike Johnson will ‘easily become Speaker’ if he reforms government spending

President-elect Donald Trump predicted he would “easily” retain office if House Speaker Mike Johnson improves his tone. government funding package Which has thrown the Republicans into open rebellion.

Trump, 78, and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, 40, maneuvered on Wednesday Abolish bipartisan agreement completely To prevent a partial government shutdown amid growing GOP backlash. The incoming president wants Johnson (R-La.), 52, to dramatically change the plan.

“If the speaker acts decisively and toughly, and gets rid of all the traps being set by the Democrats that will destroy our country economically and in other ways, he will easily remain speaker.” Trump told Fox News,

On Tuesday evening, congressional leaders unveiled a stopgap funding plan that could avert Saturday’s shutdown at midnight Friday and keep the government on until March 14, 2025.

But that 1,547-page bill was packed with add-ons like $100 billion in disaster relief, $10 billion in aid for farmers, what would be Congress’s first pay raise since 2009, support for the return of Washington commanders, and more. To the RFK Stadium site and more.

Republicans erupted in open rebellion, while Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-heads of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), turned on the speakers and urged Republicans to kill the bill.

Trump was initially silent. Then later in the day Wednesday, he and Vance demanded the GOP eliminate the “Democrat gift” and finalize the debt ceiling increase.

“Anything other than that is a betrayal of our country,” Trump and Vance said in a joint statement.

The notable turn against the GOP speaker raised questions about the extent of Trump and Johnson’s coordination on the funding bill. The two men have remained in touch and were seen talking at the Army-Navy game over the weekend.

Last year, after a botched funding flap, Congress agreed to suspend the debt ceiling – a limit on the government’s authority to borrow – until early 2025. This means that this is poised to become a difficult issue for the next administration to address early on. When Trump has his eyes on a broader legislative agenda.

Vance met with Johnson for about an hour on Wednesday evening and later claimed to have a “productive conversation” without divulging much about their conversation.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) indicated to journalists The funding deal, which was publicly launched late Tuesday, has fallen by the wayside.

Regarding the funding bill, Trump told Fox News, “Anyone who supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand, known as the debt ceiling, should be prioritized and as quickly as possible.” “should be dealt with as soon as possible.”

Many Republicans have publicly voiced their support for Johnson to retain the post of speaker amid the rebellion.

“They don’t have my vote,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) bluntly told CNN during the funding dispute.

From the other chamber, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested his colleagues in the House consider Musk serving as speaker.

“Nothing will disrupt this quagmire more than electing Elon Musk. , , Think about it. , , nothing’s impossible. (Not to mention the joy of seeing the Collective Establishment, aka ‘Uniparty’, lose their ever-loving minds),” he posted on x,

The vote for House Speaker will take place when the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2025.

Johnson is up against the clock and in trouble. They have some members of the House Republican caucus who could oppose almost any spending patch to prevent a shutdown.

That means they will need Democratic support to get the measure through the House. From there, it needs to clear the Democrat-controlled Senate and win President Biden’s signature.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. And have hurt the working-class Americans they claim to support,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). written on x,

“You break a bipartisan agreement, you are responsible for the consequences that follow.”

Meanwhile, as GOP leadership races to create a Plan B on the funding measure, the White House is attacking them for the chaos.

“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan deal or they will hurt hard-working Americans and create instability across the country,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.