Does He, or doesn’t He?? Only his hairdresser knows for sure
Michael Stanley-Jones
Writer on Culture, Environment, Politics and Sustainability
Rep. Mike Johnson was elected the 56th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on October 25th, after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy three weeks earlier.?
What role did former President Donald Trump play in elevating Johnson to the Speakership?
Lauren Fedor?writing in the Financial Times sees in the election of Johnson “[Trump’s] enduring influence over Capitol Hill.”[1]
After Johnson’s election, Trump claimed credit for the elevation of Mike Johnson as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“This time yesterday, nobody was thinking of Mike,” the former president said. “Then we put out the word and now he is the Speaker of the House.”
There is a certain plausibility to this view, which is shared by The New York Times, whose editorial board blared “Trumpism Is Running the House.“[2]
Johnson had crafted a legal argument that supported Trump’s claim to have won the 2020 presidential election. ?The suit, filed directly in the Supreme Court, sought to bar the States of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin from casting their electoral votes for Biden.
The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the case, determining that the plaintiff, the State of Texas, lacked legal standing to bring the suit against the States which had found in favor of Biden’s victory.
Johnson has since refused to speak about the failed case.
The idea that Trump is somehow beholden to Johnson because of his support misunderstands how Trump operates.
Trump’s late endorsement of Johnson was nothing but.
Earlier in 2023, Trump had endorsed McCarthy for the Speakership. This followed months after Trump denied he had endorsed McCarthy, in response to the question being put to him by conservative talk show host Wayne Allyn Root.[3]?
After Republicans took control of the House Majority, however, Trump endorsed McCarthy’s bid for the Speakership, then walked it back in a phone conversation with NBC News reporters Garrett Haake?and?Dareh Gregorian, after McCarthy failed to secure the Speakership on the first three ballots.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump?said when asked if he stands by his endorsement of McCarthy on January 3, 2023.?
A day later, Trump made up his mind and returned to endorsing McCarthy.[4]
After McCarthy’s ejection from the Speakership on Oct. 3rd, Trump proactively endorsed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), before Jordan was defeated by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) for the Party’s nomination in the House Republican conference, on a vote of 113 to 99 in the ballot behind closed doors. Scalise then dropped out and Jordan was duly nominated.
Trump’s support proved insufficient to pull Jordan over the line in the full House, with at least 25 Republican House members abandoning their Party’s nominee after three rounds of balloting. Jordan's candidacy was then ejected by his conference.
At a campaign stop on Oct. 23rd, Trump declined to endorse a new candidate for speaker.
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“I'm staying above it. I have to right now," the former president told reporters. "But I've spoken to just about all the candidates, there are quite a few of them. And they're terrific people."
Nine Republican candidates jumped in the race, with two dropping out before the next Conference ballot was held on Tuesday, October 24th. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota) and Rep. Mike Johnson made it into the runoff, with Emmer claiming a Pyrrhonic victory on the final ballot, 117 to 97.
It was at this point that Trump put his thumb on the scale.? “I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump said. “Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them.”[5]
Facing defeat when his nomination would go before the House, Emmer quickly dropped out. Trump’s late intervention tipped the scales in favor of Johnson.
On Tuesday, Trump advised the Party caucus on Truth Social
“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory….My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson.”
Johnson then clinched the nomination.
The pattern that emerges from this record of Trump’s first declining to endorse and then issuing late endorsements of candidates is to wait and see who has sufficient strength to win before going all in on supporting their candidacy.? After their victory, Trump can claim credit for putting them over the top.
McCarthy, Jordan and Johnson all have enjoyed the former President’s wavering support at one time or another over the course of the past 10 months.
Loyalty, however, is a one-way street, something Trump demands from others but only gives as long as it suits his purpose.
Johnson will in time need to learn this lesson.
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[1] Lauren Fedor? (27 October 2024). Trump shows his influence over Congress in election of Mike Johnson as Speaker. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/a014cd2d-afb2-46bd-b015-8d5afb8b7006
[2] New York Times Editorial Board (Oct. 26, 2023). Trumpism Is Running the House. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/26/opinion/mike-johnson-trump-speaker.html
[3] Sarakshi Rai (June 20, 2022). Trump says he hasn’t endorsed McCarthy for Speaker. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3529712-trump-says-he-hasnt-endorsed-mccarthy-for-speaker/
[4] Kelly Hooper (Jan. 4, 2023). Trump endorses McCarthy after three failed speaker votes. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/04/trump-endorses-mccarthy-speaker-house-00076298
[5] ?E Greve (Oct. 24, 2023). House still without speaker as Republicans fail yet again to unify. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/24/house-speaker-vote-candidate-republican
Does She, or Doesn’t She? (1957)