The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, has shown his support for Mike Johnson to continue as speaker of the House of Representatives in the United States, after a government funding crisis.
President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson as he prepares to fight to maintain his role as leader of Republicans in Congress.
Trump noted in a post on his social network Monday that Johnson “is a good, hard-working, religious man” and said the Louisiana Republican “will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN.”
“Mike has my complete and total support,” Trump wrote.
He Johnson's continued leadership appeared to be in jeopardy following a fight over a federal funding plan that put the government at risk of a shutdown before Christmas. Although an agreement was reached, the dispute showed the limits of Johnson's influence and exposed cracks in his party's support.
The House speaker's first two funding plans collapsed when Trump, who is not inaugurated until Jan. 20, intervened with calls to suspend or lift the government debt limit.
Johnson, who has worked hard to stay close to Trump, convinced the president-elect that he will meet his demands to raise the debt limit in 2025.
Trump had remained silent on Johnson's fate ahead of a Jan. 3 leadership vote for more than a week, even as some Republicans signaled they might not support Johnson for the role.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the Republicans who opposed Kevin McCarthy's initial bid for House speaker, said in a statement Monday that “our next speaker must show courageous leadership.” to get our country back on track.”
The Indiana lawmaker went on to make a series of demands for the next GOP majority leader, including major spending reform.