Trump could turn the tide for Johnson
Speaker visits GOP leader at tense moment
WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson had a brutal week trying to control the rowdy band of Republicans that he leads. And that’s before he even got to Friday afternoon, when he planned to meet with the GOP’s de facto leader, Donald Trump.
Johnson’s visit to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and 2024 White House campaign headquarters came at a critical moment for the Louisiana Republican as he faces a threat to remove him from his post by longtime Trump ally and conservative rabble-rouser Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
Trump had already thrown his weight around House affairs in the past week: On Wednesday, the former president emboldened conservative opposition to Johnson’s plan to reauthorize a controversial spying law, plunging the House into turmoil after those far-right members used procedural tactics to freeze the lower chamber to protest the speakers’ agenda.
“Trump’s never really been one that’s made it easy to govern. He has a tendency to offer opinions before he fully researched the issue,” a House Republican said of Trump’s hold on House Republicans, on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly.
In the end, the House passed the spying law Friday on the fourth try. But the spy law infighting underscores how Trump’s influence could turn the tides for – or against – Johnson as he tries to fend off Greene’s ouster threat and other conservative backlash. While the speaker already keeps in regular touch with the president, his decision to meet with Trump on Friday afternoon high
lighted their relationship at a particularly fraught time for Johnson.
‘Kiss the ring’
Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, a Trump ally and the former president’s White House physician, told USA TODAY ahead of time that the meeting and following event would “absolutely” be important for Johnson as he attempts to navigate the speakership.
Jackson rebuked Greene’s threat to oust the speaker “as the last thing we need right now.” The former president “respects him and he likes him.” Trump’s support for Johnson could certainly be “helpful” for his survival, Jackson said.
A consultant for a GOP lawmaker and other Republicans spoke more bluntly about Johnson’s visit and the event with their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, comparing it to then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s visit to South Florida less than a month after the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, when Trump’s political power appeared to be at an all-time low ebb.
“The last time a Republican House Speaker visited Mar-a-Lago, it was to capitulate and kiss the ring. I suspect Speaker Johnson will do the same thing knowing he’s one Trump tweet away from losing his speakership,” the consultant said.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., one of the conservatives who joined 18 other rebels earlier this week to freeze the House in protest of the GOP’s spy law plan, is cold towards removing Johnson, saying he doesn’t believe it is a “prosperous avenue to be going down.”
But Steube noted that Johnson still does not have as strong a relationship with Trump compared to McCarthy, who went on to become House speaker in January 2023, then lost the gavel last October.
Steube added that it was “important for the speaker to have a relationship with the leader of our party and be in more constant communication with him.” Trump’s support, he added, could change conservatives’ attitude towards Johnson “if he starts governing differently.”
Could Trump kill Greene threat?
Greene’s threat could soon materialize on the House floor. Johnson is under heavy pressure from both sides of the aisle to put Ukraine aid on the floor and is likely to move on the issue in the coming week. The Georgia Republican has signaled she will call up a vote to oust Johnson if he attempts to push through the Ukraine funding.
Some Republicans think it would be best for Trump to intervene immediately and tell Greene to drop her bid. They have concerns that another leadership crisis would not only endanger their chances of retaining control of the House but reflect poorly on Trump’s reelection campaign.
“I don’t think it would be helpful to go through another motion to vacate whatsoever,” another House Republican said on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly about the former president.
Greene met with Johnson for more than an hour in his office Wednesday. Leaving the meeting, when asked if she had spoken with the former president and if he supported her efforts, she declined to answer and said she doesn’t “talk about the conversations I have with the president.”
While Trump could simply stay out of the House speaker fight, there’s also worry among Republicans that his silence could be misinterpreted by conservatives.
If Trump stays quiet, a senior House GOP aide said on the condition of anonymity, it would be “worse” for the speaker and could put Johnson in an even tighter spot as his conservative antagonists might not see an issue with ousting him.
Not only was the Mar-a-Lago event on Friday expected to be crucial to Johnson’s speakership, the hope is to also rally House Republicans together to portray unity after months of intraparty bickering and infighting.
But that unity isn’t a given for some hard-liners. Asked whether there needs to be a united front in the GOP, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, said “Of course there needs to be a united front, and we all agree on that. The question is: united on what?”
Contributing: Zac Anderson, USA TODAY