Donald Trump is throwing his full support behind Mike Johnson to continue as Republican House Speaker after weeks of speculation over his future.
‘Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man,’ Trump wrote on social media on Monday.
‘He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!’
The huge endorsement comes as lawmakers prepare to return to Washington for the new Congress this week.
Republicans will hold a slim majority in the House and a three-seat majority in the Senate in the new year, giving them tough margins to pass legislation.
The House will hold a vote for Speaker on Friday.
After criticism over the past few weeks about how he handled negotiating a spending deal, it remained unclear whether Johnson would have enough backing to stay in the job.
But Trump’s ringing endorsement could go a long way toward shoring up support for Johnson as Republicans prepare to move forward once the president-elect takes office on January 20.
However, some Republican lawmakers have already signaled they will not back Johnson.
It comes after he reached a deal with Democrats just before the holidays to avert a government shutdown following a last-minute scramble in which two other deals fell through.
During the process, Trump and billionaire Elon Musk helped tank a more than 1,500-page bipartisan spending deal Johnson had negotiated with Democrats.
A much-slimmer bill by Republicans that had the backing of Trump and Musk also went down in flames with the help of some conservative Republicans.
That was because Johnson included a provision to raise the debt ceiling as Trump demanded.
A third agreement, which was slimmed down but did not include some of what Trump demanded was finally passed at the 11th hour with Democrats’ help.
After that, Trump remained coy over whether he would back Johnson, a longtime MAGA loyalist, in the new year.
He wrote Johnson could ‘easily remain speaker’ if he threw out the ‘traps set by Democrats’ in the bill, but he did not come right out with an endorsement after the deal.
Johnson’s office responded to Trump’s endorsement on Monday by sharing the president-elect’s Truth Social post.
‘Thank you, President Trump! I’m honored and humbled by your support, as always,’ Johnson wrote in a post on X.
‘Together, we will quickly deliver on your America First agenda and usher in the new golden age of America. The American people demand and deserve that we waste no time. Let’s get to work!’
With such a tight majority, Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican vote and still keep his leadership role.
Trump’s backing could be the only thing that helps get Johnson over the finish line as lawmakers in Washington face a series of looming challenges including addressing the debt limit in the new year.
Before Trump’s endorsement, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) told DailyMail.com he is firmly against voting for Johnson due to the dumping of the 1,500-page spending deal he originally helped negotiate.
Other Republicans had also signaled that Johnson’s position was in jeopardy but that Trump would play a pivotal role in the speaker election.
Some GOP members have shown they are willing to go against the president-elect.
Earlier this month, 38 Republicans voted against the Trump-backed spending deal in Congress as lawmakers looked to avoid the government shutdown.