Trump Backs Mike Johnson for Another Stint as House Speaker
(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Donald Trump gave a full-throated endorsement for House Speaker Mike Johnson to retain the gavel in his first visit to Capitol Hill since winning the Nov. 5 election, where Republicans look likely to have control of both chambers of Congress.
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Trump told a gathering of House Republicans on Wednesday morning that he was with the Louisiana Republican all the way, according to people familiar with the matter.
Republicans currently have 216 seats in the House, two shy of the majority. As of now, Democrats have only 207 seats, with 12 races still to be called, according to the Associated Press.
In his meeting with the conference, Trump gave a few comments, but the aides ushered the press out of the room moments after he began to speak.
“Isn’t it nice to win?” Trump said at a gathering of the House GOP conference at the Hyatt Regency in Washington. “It’s always nice to win.”
Controlling both chambers of Congress theoretically eases the path for Trump to enact his populist agenda, including lowering corporate taxes, enacting tariffs and engaging in a mass deportation program of undocumented migrants, among other campaign pledges.
Trump’s billionaire backer, Elon Musk, was at the meeting as well. Trump on Tuesday night tapped Musk, the world’s richest person, to help lead an effort alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to slash excess regulations, restructure the federal government and reduce spending.
Musk did not speak during the forum, “but he waved a lot” to the members in the room, Representative Marc Molinaro of New York, said.
In the brief part of his remarks before the press was asked to leave, Trump expressed confidence that Republicans would be able to enact their agenda despite what is likely to be a razor-thin majority.
The president-elect predicted the party could hold just a four or five seat edge in the House.
“I guess you’ll be five up, but you’re looking at five or four,” he said, adding that it “doesn’t matter.”
“When you can get used to one, you can get used to anything,” referencing Johnson’s slim majority in Congress earlier this year.
Trump later visited the White House, where he met with President Joe Biden — his first visit to the executive mansion since his chaotic exit four years ago after he lost the 2020 election.
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--With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron and Skylar Woodhouse.
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