Former President Trump backed House Republican nominee Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker of the House, urging GOP lawmakers to vote for him during the floor vote Wednesday and to “get it done fast!”
Before entering a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday morning for another day of proceedings as part of the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization, Trump touted Johnson.
“He’s respected by all and that’s what we need,” Trump said. “It looks like it’s going to happen.”
House Speaker nominee Rep. Mike Johnson speaks beside fellow members after being nominated for House Speaker, inside the Longworth House Office Building at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. (Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Trump called Johnson “spectacular and maybe for many years to come, he’ll be very good. So, we’re very happy about that.”
“We think Mike Johnson is going to do really well,” Trump continued. “He’s popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic. I think he’s going to be a fantastic speaker. I believe that will happen.”
He added: “You’ll let me know when I come out, I’ll be out in a couple of hours.”
Trump, on Truth Social, posted before his comments at the court, and said he would not offer a formal endorsement to any of the current candidates, but made a “strong suggestion” to vote for Johnson, R-La.
ADEL, IOWA – OCTOBER 16: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks to guests during a campaign event at the Dallas County Fairgrounds on October 16, 2023 in Adel, Iowa. Trump is also scheduled to speak at a rally in nearby Clive later in the afternoon. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. “Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves.”
Trump congratulated Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; Mark Green, R-Tenn.; and Roger Williams, R-Texas, and “the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana).”
“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory,” Trump said. “In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN!”
He added: “My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST! LOVE, DJT,”
Trump’s comments come ahead of a House floor vote Wednesday, after House Republicans nominated Johnson as speaker late Tuesday night.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was the nominee through the day Tuesday, but Trump sunk his candidacy by blasting him as a “globalist RINO,” or, Republican In Name Only, and by warning House Republicans that electing him speaker “would be a tragic mistake.”
Reps. Scalise, Jordan, and Emmer were candidates for Speaker of the House – after Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted. Now Hern is in the mix after the three failed to garner support. (Getty Images)
Johnson is the fourth nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.
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Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition. Emmer was the third nominee, and he dropped out ahead of a formal floor vote after pressure from Trump.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is under pressure from conservatives not to pass a “clean” continuing resolution (Getty Images)
House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed.
This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.