Republicans Are on the Brink of Massive Power—and Already in Disarray
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s job may be in jeopardy once again.
Some conservative lawmakers are plotting to nominate an alternative candidate to Johnson during internal GOP elections this week, The Hill reported Tuesday.
One source told The Hill that “there will be a nomination” on Wednesday.
Johnson, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, has expressed confidence that he will be reelected. “I think you’ll have total unity in the party,” he said.
The Louisiana Republican previously faced a failed challenge to vacate the speakership from Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie. He has also been openly criticized by Representative Chip Roy, who said that there were “a lot of Republicans” who were concerned about Johnson.
Roy said Tuesday that it “seems likely” that Johnson will have a challenger in the vote but did not clarify whether he or someone else would be the one to challenge the current speaker.
Johnson said Tuesday that Republicans will be “ready to deliver” Trump’s 2025 agenda.
“We will be ready day one. We are prepared this time,” he said.
Ready for what, exactly? Johnson has previously promised to push for government spending reform that could threaten Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, and Social Security. Johnson has also said he would repeal the CHIPS Act, which is set to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and bring in billions of dollars, even though it’s not currently on the GOP agenda. He later walked back that statement by saying it wasn’t on the agenda.
Republicans have begun warning Trump’s transition team that it cannot select any more Republican representatives to the president-elect’s Cabinet, because it threatens the GOP’s narrow House majority.