The GOP announced late Tuesday night its fourth House Speaker nominee in approximately two weeks.

Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) is the party’s latest attempt to fill the top House of Representatives position.

The GOP held another candidate forum after House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) dropped out of the race.

Emmer withdrew his name from consideration after heavy criticism from President Trump.

Donald Trump issued a statement Wednesday morning on Truth Social about the GOP’s latest House Speaker nominee.

“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. Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves. Congratulations to Reps. Byron Donalds (Florida), Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann (Tennessee), Mark Green (Tennessee), & Roger Williams (Texas), & the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana),” Trump wrote.

“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. In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN! My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST! LOVE, DJT.”

“Getting back to congress, we think Mike Johnson is going to do really well. He is popular. He is smart, he is sharp. He’s gonna be fantastic. I think he’s gonna be a fantastic Speaker,” Trump said Wednesday morning.

WATCH:

Rolling Stone writes:

Trump’s hesitancy to outright endorse Johnson is not surprising given that his first endorsed Speaker candidate, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was stripped of his nomination last week after losing three floor votes. The party narrowly nominated Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) on Tuesday, but he dropped out of the race hours later after Trump trashed him on Truth Social, calling him a “Globalist RINO” who had “never respected” his power. By contrast, and much like his relationship with Jordan, Trump sees a loyal footsoldier in Mike Johnson.

The Louisiana representative, hailing from the same state as failed Speaker candidate Steve Scalise, served on Trump’s defense team in both of his Senate impeachment trials. He was also a key figure behind efforts in Congress to challenge Trump’s 2020 election loss. Johnson organized support from 126 House Republicans for an amicus brief to a Texas lawsuit that sought to invalidate millions of votes from four key battleground states won by Joe Biden in 2020. The lawsuit was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court.

Robert Costa of CBS News cited his reporting from after the election on Wednesday to note that Johnson was “part of letters and behind-scenes efforts with key outside groups” and that the then relatively unknown congressman “worked with allied Trump groups and conservative leaders in a coordinated way to make sure that whole orbit was working together to help Trump.”

The House of Representatives is expected to conduct a floor vote Wednesday.

Per CBS News:

Republicans will try again Wednesday to find a path to the next House speaker with GOP Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, their fourth nominee in three weeks — and the second nominee in a single day.

Johnson won his party’s nomination late Tuesday night, hours after Majority Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota became the third Republican nominee to flop since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in early October. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise threw his support behind Johnson late Tuesday.

After prevailing over seven other candidates in a five-round vote, Emmer couldn’t overcome opposition from conservatives, who cited his votes to certify the 2020 presidential election and to protect same-sex marriage among the reasons they would not support him.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.


We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.