Sen. Banks: ‘I don’t think Mike Johnson would have been speaker’ without Trump
Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) said on Sunday he doesn’t think Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would have been reelected to his leadership post without the backing of President-elect Trump.
“Donald Trump weighed in in support of Mike Johnson. I don't think Mike Johnson would be Speaker of the House this morning if Donald Trump wouldn't have weighed in last week, spent political capital helping him get elected on one vote,” Banks said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“And to me, that's a positive sign that House Republicans are unified behind Donald Trump, the Trump agenda,” he continued.
Banks said he thinks House Republicans’ ability to elect Johnson on the first ballot this past week bodes well for the chances of Trump getting his desired sweeping reconciliation package done in Congress.
Asked whether he thinks Trump’s goal of passing energy policy, tax cuts and border security in one massive bill makes it more likely that the agenda could get derailed, Banks said, “Not if we’re doing it in one bill, and this week is good evidence.”
Banks said members are “hearing from our supporters at home” that they want Trump’s policy agenda enacted into law.
“We have to get this done, secure the border, make our military focused on winning and fighting wars and strong again, make the tax cuts [for] working families permanent. The Trump agenda. Get that done as quickly as we can,” Banks said.
“If it's one reconciliation bill, if it's two, if it's 10, we got to, we got to get it done,” he continued. “I think this week proved that we can do that.”