WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump is endorsing House Speaker Mike Johnson as he prepares to fight to keep his role leading Republicans in Congress.
Trump said Monday in a post on his social media network that Johnson “is a good, hard working, religious man” and said the Louisiana Republican “will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN.”
“Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote.
Johnson’s continued leadership seemed in jeopardy after a fight over a federal funding plan put the government at risk for a pre-Christmas shutdown. Though a deal was reached, the dispute showed the limits of Johnson’s influence and exposed cracks in his party’s support.
The speaker’s first two funding plans collapsed as Trump, who does not take the oath of office until Jan. 20, interceded with calls to suspend or lift the government debt ceiling.
Read More: How a Government Shutdown Could Affect Americans
Johnson, who has worked hard to stay close to Trump, convinced the president-elect that he would meet his demands to raise the debt limit in 2025.
Trump had remained quiet about Johnson’s fate before a Jan. 3 leadership vote for over a week, even as some Republicans signaled that they may not support Johnson for the role.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, one of the Republicans who opposed Kevin McCarthy’s initial bid for the speakership, said in a Monday statement that “our next speaker must show courageous leadership to get our country back on track.”
The Indiana lawmaker went on to make a series of demands for the next leader of the GOP majority, which included major spending reform. Rep. Andy Harris, who is the chair of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, had also indicated that Johnson’s future as speaker is not guaranteed before the holidays.
In a Dec. 20 post on X, Harris said that Republicans have not done enough to bring down “spending, deficits and inflation” since Trump’s electoral victory in November.
Because of this, Harris wrote, “I am now undecided on what House leadership should look like in the 119th Congress.”
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Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in Washington contributed to this report.
