President-elect Donald Trump (R) has endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R), but not all Republicans are backing the endorsement. Similar to the debacle concerning the government shutdown, Republicans are divided when it comes to its House leadership. Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R) isn’t sold on Speaker Johnson, and he believes that the incumbent could be ousted over his track record.
The November election proved that Republicans have strong support from American voters, but the end of the year proved troubling for the GOP.
Lawmakers ultimately voted on a CR to keep the government’s lights on, but the negotiation process led to a surprising rivalry between President-elect Trump and Rep. Roy. The Texas lawmaker did not support the CR bills that were proposed, which conflicted with President-elect Trump’s backing of the second CR that was voted down due to lack of support.
In response to the vote, the president-elect called on Republicans to primary Rep. Roy, calling him “unpopular.”
Rep. Roy subsequently appeared unbothered by the president-elect’s threat, affirming that he answered to his constituents and not to President-elect Trump.
Rep. Roy and President-elect Trump now find themselves at odds again regarding Republican leadership.
During an appearance on Fox Business, Rep. Roy discussed Speaker Johnson’s role, positing that the incumbent does not have enough votes to keep the speakership. As well, Rep. Roy said that he is undecided on whether he can support Speaker Johnson.
“I remain undecided, as do a number of my colleagues, because we saw so many of the failures last year that we are concerned about that might limit or inhibit our ability to advance the president’s agenda,” Rep. Roy explained.
The House will vote on Friday for its next speaker.
Speaker Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican vote, and that’s assuming that all members are present and voting for a candidate.
