Speaker Johnson, Scalise ask House Republicans for reelection to leadership

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) formally asked House Republicans to reelect them to their leadership posts in letters sent to GOP members on Wednesday.

The asks come ahead of leadership elections scheduled for Dec. 13.

They also come as election forecasters at Decision Desk HQ and elsewhere have not yet determined that they have enough support to keep control of the lower chamber. Republicans appeared in good shape to keep control of the House on Wednesday, but the final breakdown remains unclear, and Democrats are also saying they see a path to victory.

Johnson, in his letter, brought up the legislative plans he has been working on for months to quickly push through conservative policies in President-elect Trump’s new administration.

“To truly make America great again, we will need to begin delivering for the people on day one. In preparation, we have worked diligently for the past year to be ready with a priority list of key conservative policy wins that we can achieve together with our Senate Republican colleagues, working hand-in-hand with the new Trump Administration,” Johnson said in the letter to colleagues.

“We can secure our borders, prioritize the needs of Americans above foreigners, promote investment and opportunity through the tax code, return to American energy dominance, dramatically reduce regulations, expand school choice, end the woke agenda, and restore fiscal sanity to Washington — among other pressing items,” Johnson said.

Johnson, who was elected to the Speakership a little more than a year ago after the historic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), added that it “has been the honor of my lifetime to serve with you thus far, and I look forward to playing the biggest offense of our lives.”

In next week’s leadership elections, Republicans expecting to be in the majority will nominate a candidate for Speaker by a simple majority of all returning and incoming House Republicans.

But the Speaker will also have to secure a majority support on the House floor when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3, a dynamic that requires near-unanimous GOP support since Democrats will vote for their own leader.

Johnson has some antagonists in the House GOP, with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) leading a failed effort to remove him from the Speakership earlier this year. In an ultra-narrow House GOP majority, that opposition could threaten his path to being elected Speaker on the House floor. McCarthy’s Speaker election in 2023 took days, as around 20 Republicans withheld support as they aimed to secure certain reforms.

The path to majority leader is much simpler, requiring only a simple majority in the internal House GOP conference vote.

Scalise in his four-page letter to colleagues obtained by The Hill also highlighted the Republicans’ plans for Trump’s first 100 days: lock in the tax cuts that Trump signed into law during his first term; “unleash American energy” by mandating lease sales and ending green subsidies that Democrats passed; and send resources to the southern border to build Trump’s border wall.

“We methodically laid out a road map — passing key aspects of Trump’s bold agenda to clearly show how we would govern if given this historic opportunity,” Scalise said in the letter to colleagues. “Now, we need a Majority Leader who knows how to take that road map and, under President Trump’s leadership, implement a bold, conservative Republican agenda. I am running to continue the work I started as Majority Leader, and I humbly ask for your support.”

Scalise also highlighted his extensive efforts on the campaign trail and in fundraising.

“Thanks to the support of nearly a quarter-million donors, the Scalise Leadership Fund raised over $70 million this cycle— which went directly to candidates, members, the NRCC, and state parties,” Scalise said. “I’ve been all over this great country, traveling to 36 states, 112 cities, and 153 districts, standing alongside many of you to ensure our Team had the necessary resources to win.”