President-elect Donald Trump threw his full support behind House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to lead the House again during a closed-door meeting with GOP lawmakers on Wednesday.
Trump told current and incoming members that he backed Johnson ‘100%’ hours before Republicans are set to elect their leaders for the 119th Congress, sources said. Johnson was not facing any significant challenges, but a group of conservative members are threatening to slow the process down by demanding a recorded vote rather than unanimous consent for the speaker.
One member of the hardline-right House Freedom Caucus told Fox News Digital that Trump’s strong support for Johnson will likely negate any significant opposition the Louisiana Republican was facing.
Trump told Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., to ‘stick together’ in the next congressional term, two sources said.
Sources said Trump also promised to ‘carry out the largest deportation operation in history,’ sources said, which earned cheers from House Republicans.
He also gave shoutouts to Elon Musk, who was in the room with him, as well as his incoming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who he tapped to be his new U.N. ambassador, sources said.
Trump also predicted the GOP could win liberal states like California and New York in the next election — and mused about running a fourth time.
‘I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something else, unless you say he’s so good we’ve got to figure something out,’ he joked to a gathering of House Republicans ahead of their closed-door leadership elections in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
‘It’s nice to win. It’s always nice to win. A lot of good friends in this room. So, you know, we had, like, historic kind of numbers, especially for the president,’ Trump said. ‘But the House did very well, and I think we’re responsible for helping you.’
Trump’s appearance came as lawmakers returned to Washington for a lame duck session before the next term. Republicans are poised to keep their narrow majority in the House and have won control of the Senate, granting them far greater ease next term at getting conservative legislation to the president’s desk.
Trump went on: ‘We won, which is great because Republicans aren’t supposed to be winning the majority.’
‘We won it every way — all seven swing states by a lot … New Jersey is right, just a few points. It’s got them very worried because they said, well, next time if we go up even a fraction of what we went up, you’re going to win New York, you’re going to win new Jersey, you’re going to win places that weren’t winnable. California too.’