Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is wooing his sharpest critics within the Home GOP forward of his official election for Speaker on the Home ground, working to remove opposition and safe the strongest management mandate doable in a razor-thin majority.
Within the newest improvement, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — one of many leaders of an unsuccessful transfer to oust Johnson earlier this 12 months — is not ruling out supporting Johnson for Speaker. The 2 chatted over the Thanksgiving break, and have been having conversations that seem like leaving a optimistic impression on Massie.
“We’ve been talking,” Massie instructed The Hill when requested if he’s nonetheless against Johnson. “We talked last week.”
Massie cautioned that he’s “not to the support levels yet.” However his openness to voting for Johnson is a significant improvement, given his prior opposition. Earlier this 12 months, Massie had mentioned he wouldn’t vote for Johnson “come hell or high water.”
The Kentucky Republican’s softening on Johnson comes because the Speaker has additionally secured the backing of his most vocal former critic, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).
Greene, the principle chief of the failed movement to vacate earlier this 12 months, confirmed on Wednesday that she’s going to vote for Johnson to be Speaker within the Jan. 3 ground vote.
“Nobody’s running against him,” Greene instructed The Hill.
Greene had first signaled openness to supporting Johnson after the November election resulted in a win for President-elect Trump and Republicans in each chambers of Congress.
After a “productive” personal assembly between the 2 final month, which The Hill first reported, Greene is now set to chair a Delivering on Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) subcommittee, to enrich the Trump administration DOGE fee headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Johnson already gained renomination for Speaker final month in a voice vote by Home Republicans, with no member vocalizing opposition. The unanimous vote got here after he struck a deal with hardline conservatives and anti-chaos Republicans on guidelines adjustments — which included elevating the edge to pressure a vote on ousting the Speaker. That brought on hardliners to desert a plan to pressure a recorded vote to show opposition to Johnson.
However regardless of the unanimous vote, questions remained about whether or not Johnson might seamlessly win election on the Home ground, given the handful of detractors who left open the opportunity of opposing him on the Home ground.
Republicans are set to have one of many slimmest Home majorities in historical past. On Jan. 3, when there will probably be 219 Republicans and 215 Democrats — with one emptiness for former Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) seat — Johnson would solely have the ability to afford to lose assist from one Home Republican and nonetheless win the Speakership, assuming each member is current and voting for a particular candidate. All Democrats are anticipated to vote for Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
There’s little urge for food amongst Republicans to indicate any fractures because the occasion is ready to take trifecta management of presidency, in a boon for Johnson. Trump has additionally publicly supported the Speaker.
His place on extra Ukraine funding might additionally assist dissuade Republican defections, although he was criticized by the “America First” crowd for serving to usher although assist to Ukraine earlier this 12 months. Johnson on Wednesday mentioned that he’ll oppose a request from President Biden for an extra $24 billion in assist to Ukraine.
Nonetheless, there may be the danger of hardline Republicans like Massie – who has a libertarian streak and continuously votes towards his occasion – might forged protest votes that complicate or block Johnson’s path.
“I think there’s so much stuff up in the air, nobody’s going to know ‘till January 3,” Massie mentioned.
The Speaker some funding hurdles to navigate earlier than the top of the 12 months that danger angering hardline conservatives. Authorities funding runs out on Dec. 20, and Johnson is engaged on a deal to proceed funding till March.
Johnson is having to maintain up the outreach. Earlier this week, he had a dialogue with members of the Home Freedom Caucus, the hardline conservative group, about catastrophe assist funding to handle harm from hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“The House has to go through really line by line, and assess those requests and make sure that they all are actually tied to disaster and not superfluous items and issues that are included. That’s what the discussion with Freedom Caucus was about,” Johnson mentioned Wednesday.
The Freedom Caucus, nonetheless, got here out with a public assertion later that day opposing any “unpaid” catastrophe aid, rising the chance that Johnson should depend on Democratic votes to push by means of and invoice with the catastrophe aid.
Massie and Greene usually are not the one Johnson antagonists who’ve softened, although.
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who was one the ten Republicans who joined Greene in voting towards a movement to desk her movement to vacate this 12 months and has additionally criticized Johnson, instructed The Hill that he thinks he’ll assist the Speaker on the Home ground.
“I think as long as there’s no unforced errors, we should be smooth sailing,” Davidson mentioned.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), one other a kind of 10, mentioned Thursday that he would vote for Johnson for Speaker “if the vote were today,” however added that individuals “are curious how he’s going to handle the next two weeks” and points with authorities funding.
Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), one other previous public critic of Johnson, mentioned he’ll vote for the Speaker, too.
“I’m with the majority of the majority,” Miller mentioned, including: “No one’s running against him.”
The once-routine election of the Home Speaker on the opening day of the brand new Congress grew to become a drawn-out saga in January 2023, when 20 Republicans withheld assist for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) for 5 days. It was the primary time in a century {that a} Speaker vote took a number of ballots. And later within the 12 months, eight Republicans joined with Democrats to pressure McCarthy out, with the occasion finally deciding on Johnson to interchange him three weeks later.
A part of the conservative calls for from that January 2023 battle consisted of illustration for hardliners on key committees, such because the Home Guidelines Committee. That resulted in Massie getting a spot on that panel, together with Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.).
However Massie indicated that he’s not essentially seeking to keep on the Guidelines panel, saying he was stretched skinny with different committee work.
“I had too many credit hours last semester and I missed the drop date,” Massie joked.Johnson woos his sharpest critics in preparation for Speaker vote
