Days before Republicans are scheduled to convene for Friday’s House Speaker vote President-elect Donald Trump took the time to issue his “total endorsement” of Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) for the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSpeaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!\u201d Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s public endorsement could be a key to a win by Johnson, who can only afford a handful of GOP defections and be elected Speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rep.\u00a0Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)\u00a0has already come out as a\u00a0\u201cno\u201d vote<\/a>\u00a0on Speaker Johnson\u2019s reelection bid, putting the Louisiana Congressman in a precarious position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple Republican lawmakers threatened to withhold support for Johnson’s bid for Speaker over his recent handling of the government shutdown negotiations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Multiple Republicans also suggested\u00a0Elon Musk\u00a0become the next Speaker of the House amid the negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen.\u00a0Rand Paul\u00a0(R-Ky.) suggested\u00a0Elon Musk\u00a0serve as Speaker in a post on\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0following contentious debates over the continuing resolution (CR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . ,\u201d Paul wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n