Trump says he’s been in touch with GOP holdouts ahead of Speaker vote
President-elect Trump said he has been in touch with Republican holdouts ahead of Friday afternoon's Speaker vote, as uncertainty swirls about whether Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has enough support to be reelected leader, and how many rounds of voting that might take.
The president-elect, in a phone interview with CNN, said he spoke to Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and said the congressman “will do what’s right for the country.”
Roy's bid for House Rules Committee chair has emerged as a key issue for those withholding support for Johnson, with some Republicans saying that giving Roy the chair would seal far-right support for Johnson.
Trump said he wasn’t “telling them anything,” in calls with the holdouts Friday, but added that he is not eyeing anyone other than Johnson for Speaker.
“I’m just saying, Look, we had the greatest presidential election. We won the popular vote by millions of votes. We had a great — we had a great election, and it would be nice to cement the election with an election here. I mean, that would just be a big, beautiful exclamation point,” Trump told CNN.
Trump also praised Johnson in the interview.
“I think the Speaker will do very well. He’s a fine man. He’s a very fine individual; he’s religious, he’s smart, he’s strong. Everybody likes him. Everybody respects him,” he said.
In Friday’s vote, Johnson can afford to lose only one GOP vote, assuming all members are present and voting for a candidate. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is widely seen as an immovable “no,” and roughly a dozen other conservative Republicans are undecided.
Trump boosted Johnson earlier Friday in a post on Truth Social, writing that “a win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party.”
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