Mike Johnson clings to Trump ahead of government funding standoff

Source: Axios

3 hours ago


Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is carefully avoiding tying himself to a position on government funding that President-elect Trump could publicly denounce or destroy.

Why it matters: Johnson's majority for the GOP in the House will be tiny (as small as a 2-vote margin) — and that's if Trump stops hiring House lawmakers for administration jobs.

Government funding expires in December. GOP leaders preferred a funding stopgap to March. But House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) is floating funding through September.

If Trump does keep raiding the House, many of those seats will be filled by the fall. The reinforcements might not be there by March.

Johnson doesn't expect any other House members to get Trump gigs, he said Tuesday.

Between the lines: Johnson will have zero room for error in January's speaker race.

Scalise — who broke the ice on September vs. March in comments to Punchbowl News — can take that heat and be fine. He only has to win a majority vote on Wednesday to keep his gig.

✈️ That leaves Johnson in the position of figuring out what Trump wants, or at least what he'll accept.

Trump's "preference" on timing for government funding will "carry a lot of weight," Johnson told reporters Tuesday.

Johnson will meet Trump Wednesday in the Capitol, then be with Trump in Florida on Thursday and over the weekend.

The bottom line: Any Johnson deal will be with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who's getting his last real crack at government funding for at least two years.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2024/11/12/mike-johnson-trump-government-funding