EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that House Speaker Mike Johnson will “easily remain speaker” of the next Congress if he “takes decisive and tough action” and “all the traps set by Democrats” in the spending package eliminated.
Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with the president-elect on Thursday morning, just hours after the bipartisan agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown collapsed.
“Anyone who supports a bill that doesn’t address the Democrats’ quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be prioritized and eliminated as quickly as possible,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
Vice President-elect JD Vance met with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday evening. The two talked for about an hour about the possible continuation of the solution. Vance said the two had a “productive conversation” and he believes they “can resolve some issues here” and will continue to “work on it.”
US Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson shakes hands with US President-elect Trump on stage at a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The chaos surrounding efforts to pass legislation to prevent a government shutdown is putting the upcoming speaker election in focus as Johnson struggles to keep the party fully united.
But the president-elect told Fox News Digital that Johnson would “lightly” retain his role as spokesman.
“If the speaker acts decisively and toughly and removes all the traps set by the Democrats that will destroy our country economically and in other ways, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
The speaker vote is scheduled for January 3, 2025.
The now-dead-on-arrival one 1,547-page bill was intended to be a short-term extension of state funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2024 to give lawmakers more time to agree on funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2025 by Friday.
In addition to funding the government through March 14, the bill provided more than $100 billion in disaster relief to help Americans affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene. It also included $10 billion in economic relief for farmers, as well as health care reform measures and a provision to revitalize RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and its surrounding campuses.
The bill also included a pay raise for members of Congress.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus said they felt blindsided because seemingly unrelated policy themes were added to the bill in last-minute negotiations.
Several GOP lawmakers who were granted anonymity to speak freely said Johnson will face challenges to his candidacy for speaker on the issue in early January.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
