Trump acolytes urge Johnson defer to 'leader of the party' as Mar-a-Lago visit exposes division in GOP

Only three days before jury selection is scheduled to begin in Donald Trump's first criminal trial, embattled House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is visiting Mar-a-Lago to meet with the former president.

The meeting comes at a time when Johnson is facing major aggravations from fellow House Republicans — most notably, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia). Although Johnson and Greene are both far-right MAGA Republicans and Trump loyalists who support a Christian nationalist agenda, Greene believes that Johnson has become too friendly with Democrats and the Biden Administration when it comes to funding the federal government and military aid to Ukraine. And the Georgia congresswoman is threatening Johnson with a "motion to vacate" — the same tool that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) used against former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-California) before being ousted as speaker.

Johnson fears suffering the same fate as McCarthy, and he is obviously hoping that meeting with Trump will make his life easier.

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NOTUS reporters Katherine Swartz and Calen Razor, in an article published on April 12, explain, "Johnson and Trump's policy disagreements were on full display this week. The former president called on Congress to 'KILL FISA' just hours before the House was scheduled to move forward on reauthorizing the spying powers…. A vocal faction of the House Republican conference believes it should still be Trump — not Johnson — setting the tone in Congress."

NOTUS discussed the Trump/Johnson meeting with some House Republicans.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-Florida) told NOTUS, "The fact is that Donald Trump is the leader of our party, and I want him to be as engaged as possible, he and his team. I want him to be a part of that conversation with any policy that's going on here because it's likely policy that he, as an executive branch, will be dealing with very directly."

Another Florida Republican, Rep. Byron Donalds also described Trump as "the leader of the party," telling NOTUS, "He shouldn't have to rethink what he thinks is best based on what members think."

READ MORE: 'Embattled' Mike Johnson’s speakership may be on life support

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said the Mar-a-Lago meeting needs to be a "show of unity" between Trump and Johnson.

Scalise told NOTUS, "You're gonna see more shows of unity leading up to the (Republican National) Convention. I mean, the Convention itself is usually the culminating show of unity to start off the campaign in the most formal way, but I mean, leading up to that, I think you've seen President Trump do more things to consolidate the Republican Party."

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Read NOTUS' full report at this link.