'Would take a Christmas miracle': Republicans signal tough road ahead for Johnson on spending bill

Some House Republicans and staunch allies to President-elect Donald Trump are working to give Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) a hard time ahead of the end-of-week deadline for a critical government spending deal that would extend funding through March 14.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Wednesday said "he won’t vote for Mike Johnson on Jan. 3," according to CNN's Manu Raju, who reports that while a few other House Republicans "are non-committal on Johnson," the Kentucky congressman "appears to the first" to say he won't back the speaker.

"He doesn’t have my vote," Massie told Raju, adding that "it would take a 'Christmas miracle' to vote for him."

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Raju noted via X that Massie also stood behind Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) failed efforts earlier this year to remove Johnson from the speakership. But the CNN reporter added that Greene "has indicated she will support Johnson on Jan. 3."

In addition to Massie, other MAGA allies like former Trump chief White House strategist Steve Bannon are also against Johnson and the spending bill.

The Hill reports that Bannon "said on his War Room podcast Wednesday that the bill should fail and suggested Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) should not continue as leader of the GOP conference."

Bannon emphasized, "He’s got to go. And people sitting there, 'Well, President Trump supports him.' Well hey, President Trump supports him until he doesn’t support him."

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