'No one thinks he’s strong': GOP insiders think Johnson’s days as speaker are numbered

23 December 2024

The United States avoided a federal government shutdown when President Joe Biden, on Saturday, December 21, signed into law a three-month stopgap funding bill.

Many political reporters described the bill as Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-Louisiana) "Plan C," as two previous spending bills had failed in the U.S. House of Representatives. President-elect Donald Trump did not support the bill that ended up passing in both the House and the Senate, and according to Politico's Rachel Bade, some GOP insiders believe that Johnson's days as speaker are numbered.

In article published on December 23, Bade explains that according to Politico sources, "Not only is Trump unhappy with the funding deal, he's unhappy with Johnson, too. He's unhappy that he didn't get the debt ceiling hike he made clear he wanted."

On January 3, 2025, a new U.S. House will be seated — and lawmakers will vote to either keep Johnson as speaker or oust him.

A Trump World insider, interviewed on condition of anonymity, told Politico, "The president is upset. He wanted the debt ceiling dealt with."

A different Trump World source told Politico, "No one thinks he's strong. No one says, 'Damn, this guy's a fighter.'" And another argued, "I don't see how Johnson survives."

But not all of the Republicans interviewed by Politico are confident that Johnson will be ousted as speaker.

A GOP source described by Bade as a "Trump confidant" told Politico, "If he wanted to bury Mike Johnson, everyone knows he could — and he hasn't. While the president thinks there could have been a better deal, he also hasn't pulled the ripcord. Where we end up in a week or two is largely undecided."

Read Rachel Bade's full Politico article at this link.

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