Trump Defends House Speaker Amid Mutiny Threats

Is House Speaker Mike Johnson on the brink of betrayal?

President-elect Trump on Thursday said Speaker Johnson (R-La.) can likely remain in the leadership role if he cracks down on spending, while Johnson is reorganizing plans to fund the government ahead of Friday’s deadline to avert a shutdown.

“If the Speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump told Fox News Digital in an interview on Thursday morning.

Some GOP lawmakers have questioned their support for Johnson over to his handling of the end-of-year spending deal, which has thrown his grasp on his gavel into uncertain territory ahead of the critical Jan. 3 vote.

On Wednesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) pledged to oppose Johnson on the House floor next month and a handful of other Republicans are not saying if they will support him.

When asked why he wouldn’t back his fellow Republican, Massie told The Hill it was due to “all the grievances I had this summer, when we tried to vacate. And then this bill.”

Trump told Fox News Digital that he warned Republicans against supporting legislation that doesn’t tackle the debt limit, calling for those lawmakers to be primaried.

“Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,” he said.

One House Republican told the Washington Examiner that House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) is the most likely replacement for Johnson if House Republicans decide they need new leadership.

Emmer is among the most experienced leaders of the House Republicans, having led the National Republican Congressional Committee from 2019 to 2023 before being elected Republican whip in 2022.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) was floated by the House Republican as the second most likely House speaker replacement.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was floated as the third most likely candidate by the House Republican, a consistent favorite among the conservative wing of the party.

Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, was a leading figure in pursuing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. He unsuccessfully ran for the speakership in October 2023, losing to Johnson